State Outreach and Technical Assistance Center

Arkansas SOTAC
Staff

Coordinator
Sharon Downs has been the coordinator for the Arkansas SOTAC since 1999 and has since presented at several national, regional and state conferences. She received her Masters of Science degree in Rehabilitation Counseling from the University of Arkansas Rehabilitation Research and Training Center for Persons who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing (Fayetteville, 1999) summa cum laude. She graduated in 1996 from the Interpreter Education Program at UALR magna cum laude.

Sharon has been involved in the profession of interpreting since 1993, and taught classes in the Interpreter Education Program at UALR from Fall 1998 through Fall 1999. She is a member of Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, Inc. (RID) and Arkansas Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (ARID). She served as Student Representative for both the CIT (Conference of Interpreter Trainers) conference in 1994 and the RID conference in 1995. Sharon served as Student Representative Coordinator for the convention in Little Rock in 1996. She has served on numerous board positions for ARID (Arkansas Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf) including: Fundraising Chair from 1995 - 1997, Vice-President from 1999-2000, President from 2000-2001, and Immediate Past President from 2001-2002. Served as Editor for the ARIDian News & Views for four years, during which she was recipient of the Silver Scribe Award from the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, Inc., for outstanding newsletter (2003). Sharon was recently awarded the 2005 Staff Achievement Award for Service to UALR.
 
Disclaimer
© 2005 Arkansas SOTAC
(problems or questions? contact the webmaster)