From Army Medic to the Uber for Interpreters | Micah Jane, Bridge Interpreting Partners #104
An Army medic who served in Iraq came home, became an American Sign Language interpreter, and then built the app she calls the Uber for interpreters, because the old way was burning everybody out. Host Karissa Dunham sits down with Micah Jane, founder of Bridge Interpreting Partners, and Rodney, the developer who built the platform with her, to talk about accessibility, interpreter burnout, and giving deaf and hard of hearing clients a real say in who walks into the room. In this episode: ☀️ How a tour in Iraq as a combat medic shaped the way Micah sees her profession ☀️ Why the standard agency model leaves clients with an interpreter they did not choose ☀️ Seeing your interpreter's photo, credentials and bio before they ever arrive ☀️ Interpreters setting their own rates, and mentoring instead of discipline ☀️ The workarounds Micah found for health insurance, PTO and retirement for 1099 contractors ☀️ Twenty interpreters at the Renaissance Festival, and the after action review that became a feature Find Bridge Interpreting Partners: bipasl.com Chapters: 0:00 Welcome to Shining Light on Minnesota 0:29 Micah Jane, American Sign Language interpreter 0:49 Medic in the Minnesota Army National Guard and a tour in Iraq 1:21 Starting Bridge Interpreting Partners, BIP because it sounds magical 2:09 Why the standard agency model stopped working 2:43 When the wrong interpreter is in the room 4:27 Autonomy for interpreters and getting paid properly 5:00 How a booking works, the Uber for interpreters 5:38 Professional names, credentials and the bio section 6:50 Rodney on how the app came about 7:50 Driving for Lyft to understand the model 8:27 A private marketplace, not a directory 9:34 Drive time, travel fees and real scheduling 10:22 Transparent fees and how the money moves 11:41 Favorites and first right of refusal 14:35 Parent accounts for companies with deaf employees 16:48 Where interpreters sign up, bipasl.com 17:04 The Renaissance Festival, and doing it right 18:48 Grandma at the wedding, and why you get a photo 19:30 The BIP logo, a bridge with two shades of blue 22:51 Two rare syndromes and the five parameters of ASL 24:36 Sign language for autism and non verbal children 25:39 Interpreter rate plus twenty percent, and the plan to cut it 27:36 Twenty five hours is sustainable, forty is burnout 29:44 The pricing view that shows you where you sit 31:19 A rating system that runs both ways 32:19 Low ratings, and mentoring instead of discipline 38:59 The anti bully and harassment clause 41:39 Joanne Smith and Barbara Garrett 43:52 The health insurance workaround 44:41 PTO, retirement and profit share 46:29 The trauma tree, all but two 47:24 A soldier is a number, a medic sees a human 49:40 Interns, and catering it to the person 53:40 Mileage, drive time and the IRS at year end 55:48 The second job after certification, when the client died 56:25 Debriefing inside the umbrella of confidentiality 1:01:55 Boundaries learned as a soldier 1:03:16 What is next, and taking it national 1:06:42 Teaching a Humvee class while pregnant 1:09:18 Deaf heart, and what people are really paying for 1:10:41 How do you reset 1:11:44 Galen Lee, the violin and the disability tax 1:17:52 The Kickstarter, and paying interpreters on time 1:23:35 Be Dory and just keep swimming 1:24:46 Rodney's first sale of the day ▶️ Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/qmxCkeWu-aU 🔔 Follow Shining Light on Minnesota so you never miss an episode. New episodes weekly. 📩 Guest and sponsor inquiries: info@shininglightonminnesota.com 🌐 ShiningLightOnMinnesota.com 📸 instagram.com/shininglightonmn 👍 facebook.com/ShiningLightOnMinnesota 💼 linkedin.com/company/shining-light-on-minnesota Brought to you by Sun Control of Minnesota, Elite Tinting & Graphics and Bravo Protection Products. @suncontrolmn @elitegraphicsmn @bravoprotection #ShiningLightOnMinnesota #MinnesotaPodcast #ASL #SignLanguage #VeteranOwned Episode #104. Keep SHINING LIGHT ☀️
