Karin Ruschke - Founder and President.
Karin holds a master's degree in translation from the Monterey Institute of International Studies and founded International Language Services, Inc. (ILS) in 2000 after several years as director of the first community-based healthcare interpreting service in Chicago. Ms. Ruschke has played an integral role in raising national awareness of standards for healthcare interpreters. Serving as Co-chair of the Standards, Training and Certification (STC) committee of the National Council on Interpreting in Health Care (NCIHC) from 1999 - 2011, Ms. Ruschke has been instrumental in developing and disseminating industry standards such as the National Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice for Interpreters in Health Care. STC continued its groundbreaking work when it published National Standards for Healthcare Interpreter Training Programs in April, 2011. From 2009-2011 Ms. Ruschke served as Vice-chair, Certification of the Certification Commission for Healthcare Interpreters, which is committed to developing and administering a national, valid, credible, vendor-neutral certification program for healthcare interpreters, and continued her service as CCHI Commissioner through 2015. She currently sits on the CCHI Advisory Committee.
In addition Ms. Ruschke was a technical advisor for The Joint Commission research project Hospitals, Language and Culture: A Snapshot of the Nation and was one of only 26 national members on the expert advisory panel for the Commission's project Advancing Effective Communication, Cultural Competence, and Patient-and Family-Centered Care: A Roadmap for Hospitals.
Lien Huynh - Quality Control.
Lien Huynh was born
and raised in Vietnam to Chinese immigrants. She received her Bachelor’s Degree
in Sociology from the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Ho Chi Minh
City, Vietnam. After graduation, she moved to the United States to attend the
University of Illinois at Chicago, where she received her Master’s in Social
Work. Lien joined International Language Services, Inc. in 2008 as the Quality
Control Manager. In this role Lien mentors and evaluates ILS independent
contract interpreters to ensure compliance with the latest industry standards.
Additionally, Lien maintains her own healthcare interpreting skills by
accepting weekly interpreting assignments for ILS clients. Lien was drawn to
ILS due to the company’s commitment to extensive training, and the
post-training, multi-appointment mentorship program required of all new ILS
independent contract interpreters, a vital process for providing quality
interpreting services for LEP patients.
Matthew Graville Bricker - Trainer/Development Coordinator.
Matthew was born in
Seattle, WA. He joined ILS as a trainer in 2016, after 11 years working in a
variety of settings as a Mandarin and French interpreter. Matthew draws
on his experience as a trainer and interpreter to deliver the Curriculum for Interpreting
in Health Care©, and to insure that ILS interpreters perform at the highest
professional standard. Teaching, translating and interpreting in Mandarin
Chinese and French, Matthew’s passion for languages and learning have led him
to study Spanish, Russian, German, and American Sign Language. He has
lived and worked in Hangzhou (China), Taipei (Taiwan), Lille (France), and
Washington, D.C. (USA). In the field of instructional design, Matthew has
a particular interest in Chinese character literacy and language acquisition.
Bethany Baumann - Recruiter.
As a Recruiter at
International Language Services, Inc., Bethany specializes in recruiting
language interpreters for the 30+ language communities served by ILS. Bethany
holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Cultural Anthropology from Loyola University
Chicago and began recruiting with ILS in August of 2015. Previously she was a
Corporate Concierge serving clients in the advertising, law, real estate,
hospitality, healthcare, and entertainment industries. With 10 years of
customer service experience and a lifelong focus on philanthropy, Bethany’s
passion lies in meeting, learning from, and serving individuals from all walks
of life. As a Recruiter, Bethany is gratified to assume a role that supports
the health and autonomy of LEP patients while matching multilinguals with
meaningful professional opportunities. Outside of Recruiting, Bethany teaches
English and assists refugees in Chicago through World Relief. She has
previously advocated for a number of human wellness organizations including JDRF,
ADA, Cross-Cultural Solutions, and Meals on Wheels.
Verushka Pillay - Recruiter.
Verushka Pillay brings
an excellent track record in Talent Acquisition to International Language
Services, Inc. as our newest recruiter. Prior to working at ILS Chicago,
Verushka worked as a Recruiting Coordinator at a High Volume Recruiting Process
Outsourcing Organization, known as PeopleScout. “My passion for finding talent
was pursued from a love for leveraging peoples strengths, enabling them to
excel and ultimately add value to the target organization. Having been born and
raised in Johannesburg, South Africa, I have been exposed to wide cultural
diversity, which has made it an easy and enjoyable transition into ILS. I’ve
been given the opportunity to love what I do, apply my business knowledge and
learn about cultures of the world and help people through the power of
communication. Who wouldn’t want that?”
Brad Snook - VP/COO.
Brad
Snook joined International Language Services, Inc., in 2006 and currently
serves as the VP/COO. In that role, Brad is responsible for most of the
behind-the-scenes tasks as ILS, including IT systems, process management,
contract/pricing negotiation, banking relationships and recruiting independent
contract interpreters to service ILS clients.
Brad
received his Journalism in Advertising with a minor in Marketing from the
University of Missouri, and has spent his career in product and brand
management for large blue chip companies such as Dow Chemical, GTE, UPS and
AT&T. Prior to joining ILS, Brad was the VP Marketing for a telecom startup
that vaulted to 24th place on the annual Inc. 500 listing of the
fastest growing companies in American over a sustained, 5-year period. He
brings to ILS a unique combination of big company marketing and process
management experience, along with a solid understanding of how to successfully
manage small, high-growth companies. If he ever leaves ILS, Brad goal is to
finally work for a company with 4 or more letters in its name.
