Roberto Tijerina

Roberto Tijerina "has been the lead person in Highlander's Multilingual Capacity Building program since 2005. In his time at Highlander, Roberto has worked at building the multilingual capacity of activists and organzitions throughout the South through a variety of tranings. He is currently working on completing an introductory level training curriculum for providing interpreting in a social justice context. Roberto has also provided interpretation - into Spanish and American Sign Language - at a variety of events throughout the South and the country: the Immigrant Marches of 2006, The Southeast Social Forum (Durham 2006), SHROC VII (Durham 2008), Immigrant and Refugee Rights Training Institutes [IRRTI] (Chapel Hill 2007, Oakland 2007), and National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights National Conference (Houston 2008). He was also on the Language Access Coordination Team for the US Social Forum (Atlanta 2007).

"Before coming to Highlander, Roberto worked as an activist in the Chicago area for 18 years - his three mainstays being LGBT, immigrant, and disability rights. His experience includes working as an Outreach Associate for Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund. He has also worked as a freelance sign-language interpreter, with a focus on the Deaf Latino community in Illinois. In addition to English, he is fluent in Spanish and American Sign Language. Throughout his activist career, he has worked on issues of literacy, second-language learning, immigrant discrimination, and preparation for citizenship exams."