Catherine Donnalley was born in China. At the age of 10, she moved to the United States and has since then lived in various states including Ohio, Arkansas, Florida, Nevada, and most recently Utah before relocating to the Washington metropolitan area less than a year ago. Catherine found a passion for sign language during college where she originally studied pre-nursing. As she was taking pre-requisite courses for nursing, she discovered she wanted to change her major after enrolling in ASL classes as electives. Shortly after graduating from the University of South Florida with her BA in Interpreting, Catherine was accepted by Sorenson VRS Interpreting Institute’s (VRSII) School-to-Work program. She began her professional interpreting career working as a video relay interpreter for Sorenson Communications upon completing VRSII. Catherine holds the NIC and Utah Professional certifications for interpreting and currently works mostly as a freelance independent contractor in the Washington DC metro area. Throughout her time of interpreting, she has had the privilege to interpreter in an array of settings such as the federal government, community, medical, mental health, post-secondary education and K-12. Catherine can speak conversational Mandarin Chinese, and her goal is to combine her love for travelling and her passion for interpreting to further deepen her awareness with various cultures around the world. Catherine’s hope is that by giving back to the international Deaf community, it will collectively move us one step further towards expanding the embrace for inclusion and diversity. Additionally, as an objective to strive for more knowledge and understanding, Catherine plans to obtain a Master’s degree and continue to refine her skills in Mandarin in order to possess the tools the serve the community and bridge communication gaps.