Biography
Denise Crochet, CI, CT
NAD IV (National Association of the Deaf)
EIPA level 5.0 (Educational Interpreter Performance Assessment)
Louisiana Supreme Court Registered Interpreter
American Sign Language Teachers Association, certified
Commissioner, La. Commission for the Deaf
VAP Crochet has been actively working in the interpreting field for twenty-eight years. She has been trained in the field from sign-language institutes, mentorships with Deaf individuals (Interpreting for a Fulbright Scholar) as well as formal university training. Professor Crochet, a Tulane alumni's interpreting career has included educational, medical, mental health, theatrical, minimal language skills, legal and video-relay interpreting. Denise is particularly fond of Deaf/Blind interpreting. She has presented workshops internationally ASLI Conference (Bristol, England,) Stella Maris School (Belize), consulted with the Cambodian School for the Deaf, and across the United States with a focus on interpreter mentoring. Most recently, she presented at the American Association of Theatre Educators conference in collaboration with Tulane Theatre and Dance Department providing ASL interpretation for staged productions.
In addition to the various schemas in which she has interpreted, Ms. Crochet formerly served as the Executive Director of the non-profit Deaf Action Center, Northshore, as a mentor for the Louisiana State Dept. of Education, and currently as Interpreter Coordinator for the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. She teaches all sections of American Sign Language, Introduction to Interpreting and offers two service-learning opportunities. In the Spring of 2019, Denise established the TuXD (Tulane, Xavier, Delgado) Sign Language Consortium. This group encourages interdepartmental activities from metro New Orleans institutions where ASL is taught. She provides sign language instruction for a dynamic range of clients whose interests are interpreting as a profession, as well as those who are losing their functional hearing and are seeking an alternative mode of communication. Her passion for both interpreting and mentoring led her to establish Semantikos, LLC (an interpreting and mentoring agency) in July of 2007.