About Etna Project

The next Etna Project series will again be at Blue Mountain Retreat Center in Western Maryland.

In-person Etna Project

Details and Registration Here!

April through November, 2023

First session - 4/20/23 - 4/23/23
Second session - 7/6/23 - 7/9/23
Third session - 8/24/23 - 8/27/23
Fourth session - 11/9/23 - 11/12/23

Etna Project MD 2023

Greetings Colleagues and Friends -

We hope this finds you keeping safe for yourself and others with the lingering ramifications of Covid 19. After a break during pandemic, the Etna Project met again in person in 2022. This presented the first time that Etna Project invited Deaf Interpreters to join us in an ASL environment. That will be the case again in 2023.

As any of you who have participated in an Etna series knows, there are many ways to describe what Etna is. It is certainly an experience built on Foundations Framework A & B (formerly Foundations I and II) and the Integrated Model of Interpreting. The pedagogy, based on a learner-centric approach rooted in the work of Lev Vygotsky, allows for learning at all levels of professional experience. Participants work with text analyses and discuss topical issues in our field and in the Deaf world. Structured dialogues---Process Mediation---provide real-time practice in reflection and discovery. The content is rich and varied, flexibly created to engage and flex our cognitive processes.  

Vitally important is the retreat context: the four-day immersion experience over four long weekends that allows for down time, social time, sharing meals and chores. Long walks, raucous game sessions, and late-night conversations are all opportunities where connections are made while the learning continues and deepens. There is no way to have an equivalent experience through Zoom.  

For the safety of all participants, we do require proof of vaccination to attend this in-person retreat while Covid continues to impact the lives of so many. 

Etna Project MD 2010

Gathering interpreters from both the NH and MD Etna Projects.

2014 Etna Project NH

These happy-faced Etna Alumni pose for a group photo.

Etna Project NH 2012

Photo op for alumni at Pierce's Inn in Etna, NH.

Etna Project MD 2015

This intimate group gathers for their photo on their last evening together.

Etna Project NH 2006-2007

Aren't group photos fun!

Etna Project MD 2011

This close-knit group know a feast follows this group photo session!

Etna Project NH 2018

The final chapter of meeting for Etna in Etna, NH.

Etna Project NH 2002_03

The very first Etna gathering!

The ETNA PROJECT fosters introspection, dialogue, and respect.

Positive stimulation for open, hungry minds.

The Etna Project has grown into a community of interpreters who engage in reflective practice. We gather several times throughout the year for a long weekend of dialogue, sharing, and learning. We share a common vocabulary based on the Integrated Model of Interpreting (IMI) when discussing various aspects of the interpreting process. We make it a practice to employ Process Mediation (PM) when discussing decisions that take place in our minds after reception of the source language and before the production of the target language. As individual practitioners, we are then able to deepen and refine our understanding of our own interpreting processes.

This opportunity is open to anyone who has satisfied the prerequisite of attending the Foundations of Interpreting Processes Framework A and B Seminars. We hope you'll consider learning with us in this environment.

Who are Etna Project Alumni?

Since 2002, the Etna Project has generated an alumni of reflective practitioners eager to be engaged in their own learning and that of others. We gather several times throughout the year for a long weekend of dialogue, sharing, and learning through structured activity. In this retreat format, meeting for substantial amounts of time over the course of several months in a shared space, we learn on our own and together.

We share a common vocabulary based on the Integrated Model of Interpreting (IMI) as we explore various aspects of the interpreting process. We make it a practice to employ Process Mediation (PM) when discussing decisions that take place in our minds after reception of the source language and before the production of the target language. As individual practitioners, we are then able to deepen and refine our understanding of our own interpreting processes. There is ample time to socialize, play, exercise, and engage in dialogue about work and what you’re learning in this format. The retreat series offers an opportunity to reflect on our learning over the course of several months, to engage with a community of like-minded colleagues in a shared learning environment.

IMI Forum and the Etna Project

This networking segment of the BMC website features a 'living' yearbook of interpreters who have attended the Etna Project Seminar Series in either NH or MD (or both). Etna has provided us additional tools beyond the Foundations of Interpreting Seminar Series designed to deepen our understanding of our own interpreting processes. This is so valuable to our interpreting that we commit to continually look for ways to share with others as we work in the field. Whether with colleagues or students, we invite the opportunity to talk about any aspect of the interpreting process. We encourage those of you who have attended the Foundations of Interpreting Seminar Series to talk with us, with each other, about your experience and the tools that are presented for reflecting on the process of interpreting for use by us professionals as we work in communities everywhere.

If you have interest in IMI, PM, Vygotsky, and lifelong learning about our work as interpreters, start a conversation in the IMI Forum. We can discover much together through dialogue.

Visit the IMI Forum

You've attended a Foundations of Interpreting Seminar? Or several? Or been to Etna?

You want to connect with others who have come to value the learning that takes place using the framework of the IMI (Integrated Model of Interpreting) as a way to talk about our work as interpreters?

Connect with other Foundations Seminar and Etna Project participants when you visit the IMI Forum. Within this professional media community of practice you'll find access to colleagues willing to engage on a wide variety of topics using an approach to learning that is based in Vygotskian principles of learner-centric dialogue. If you have questions about either series, want to pursue some dialogue about what you're learning at Foundations of Interpreting seminars, or want to share your experience with others, please join us.

Note: The IMI Forum requires that you have a BMC account. Login or register for an account to access the network.

Alumni of the Etna Project

35,10,0,65,1
25,600,60,1,3000,5000,25,800
90,160,1,50,12,30,50,1,70,12,1,50,1,1,1,5000
0,1,0,0,2,40,15,5,2,1,0,10,0,1
C. A. McQuaid
C. A. McQuaid
Michelle Monahan
Michelle Monahan
M J Grant
M J Grant
Darcy Smith
Darcy Smith
Paola Morales
Paola Morales
Mary Ann Morehouse
Mary Ann Morehouse
Robb Remigio
Robb Remigio
Denise Safranec
Denise Safranec
Laurie Bolster
Laurie Bolster
Kelly Decker
Kelly Decker
Sirena Lemieux
Sirena Lemieux
Kathy Goodson
Kathy Goodson
Kate Eifler
Kate Eifler
Carolyn Lomeo Kropp
Carolyn Lomeo Kropp
Kari Bahl
Kari Bahl
Karen Kane-Levy
Karen Kane-Levy
Judy Kegl
Judy Kegl
Nancy Bender
Nancy Bender
Stephanie Young-Merchant
Stephanie Young-Merchant
Nathan Fowler
Nathan Fowler
Cara Schwartz
Cara Schwartz
Patty Moers-Patterson
Patty Moers-Patterson
Kristi Love-Cooper
Kristi Love-Cooper
Trudy Gilbert
Trudy Gilbert
Jack Hoza
Jack Hoza
Heather Anderson
Heather Anderson
Elle Langevin
Elle Langevin
Aaron Malgeri
Aaron Malgeri
Tim Kinsella
Tim Kinsella
Lori Tully
Lori Tully
Ingrid Nevar
Ingrid Nevar
Todd Tourville
Todd Tourville
Jillian Schleicher
Jillian Schleicher
Joanne Weiss
Joanne Weiss
Nick Dionne
Nick Dionne
Susan Wells
Susan Wells
Tim Mumm
Tim Mumm
Michael Labadie-Mendes
Michael Labadie-Mendes
Mary Jo Schwie Loughran
Mary Jo Schwie Loughran
Anna Perna
Anna Perna
Brenda Dencer
Brenda Dencer
Ann Swope
Ann Swope
Deb Martinez
Deb Martinez
Janice Wightman
Janice Wightman
Joan Wattman
Joan Wattman
Betty Colonomos
Betty Colonomos
Jane Hecker-Cain
Jane Hecker-Cain
Lisa Weems
Lisa Weems
Rebekka Halseth
Rebekka Halseth
Rebecca Phillips
Rebecca Phillips
Elaine Benson
Elaine Benson
Sarah Giordano
Sarah Giordano
Sallie Bruno
Sallie Bruno
Jennifer Stephenson
Jennifer Stephenson
Diana Markel
Diana Markel
Denise Martinez
Denise Martinez
Alice Harrigan
Alice Harrigan
Leslie Puzio
Leslie Puzio
Evonne Bilotta-Burke
Evonne Bilotta-Burke
Jennifer Wagner
Jennifer Wagner
Pamela Collins
Pamela Collins
Jen Kaika
Jen Kaika
Tina Cannon
Tina Cannon
Lori Civello
Lori Civello
Erin Harrison
Erin Harrison
Peter Filipowicz
Peter Filipowicz
Anne Braun
Anne Braun
Caity Cross Hansen
Caity Cross Hansen
Carol Fay
Carol Fay
Cass Kroener
Cass Kroener
Cheryl Ringel
Cheryl Ringel
Anthony Verdeja
Anthony Verdeja
Bethany Anderson
Bethany Anderson
Lynn Kohler
Lynn Kohler
Amy Williamson
Amy Williamson
Jen Raney
Jen Raney
Kendra Keller
Kendra Keller
Lianne Moccia
Lianne Moccia
Jeffrey Hardison
Jeffrey Hardison
Angela Hauser
Angela Hauser
David N. Evans
David N. Evans
Margaret Haberman
Margaret Haberman
Carmelle Cachero
Carmelle Cachero
Tristan Wright
Tristan Wright
Gary Thomas
Gary Thomas
Marina McIntire
Marina McIntire
Lisa Seaman
Lisa Seaman
Christine Pendley
Christine Pendley
Brooke Macnamara
Brooke Macnamara
Daniel Deluca
Daniel Deluca
Katie Lambe
Katie Lambe
Cindy Herbst
Cindy Herbst
Elisa Maroney
Elisa Maroney
Nicole Reynolds
Nicole Reynolds
David Pielick
David Pielick
Trisha Yachimsky
Trisha Yachimsky
Becky Stuckless
Becky Stuckless

Scholarship Fund for BIPOC Interpreters

BIPOC interpreters face challenges to be valued and recognized for their contribution to the field. BMC values these interpreters, offering scholarship funds for every seminar through donations from the interpreting community, BMC, and other supporters. We invite participation from our BIPOC colleagues.

Click here to contribute to the BIPOC Interpreter Scholarship Fund.

Scholarship Fund for Deaf Interpreters

Seminars conducted in ASL are designed to ensure that Deaf Interpreters have opportunities and choice of high quality professional development. Donations from the larger interpreting community and other supporters allow BMC to provide access to seminars for our Deaf Interpreter colleagues at lower cost.

Click here to contribute to the Deaf Interpreter Scholarship Fund.

Foundations of Interpreting

The Foundations of Interpreting Seminar Series provides insights into The Integrated Model of Interpreting and the processes we engage in while interpreting. Click here for more information on the series as well as a schedule of current seminars being offered.

Link to the Foundations of Interpreting page on Facebook!

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