In the White House, the president, the first lady, and the press secretary are usually the best-known faces. But for thousands of Americans, a picture in the right-hand corner of the White House live broadcast is where their eyes are usually focused.
Whenever the president speaks, whenever Jen Psaki gives a press conference or when experts like Dr. Anthony Fauci share new information, American Sign Language Interpreter Elsie Stecker also appears on screen.
“This is a dream job of this combination of political information and interpretation. I fit in very, very well,” CBS News and political correspondent Ed O’Keefe told the White House.
Stecker, who is completely deaf, is the first official White House ASL interpreter. The innovative position comes after defenders sued for live ASL performance during COVID-19[feminine[feminine information sessions. The Biden administration went a step further by hiring Stecker and a non-deaf ASL interpreter, Lindsey Snyder, as staff members.
“I have to really acknowledge and thank the deaf community and grassroots deaf people who worked so hard to make sure that access was available,” Stecker said. O’Keefe spoke to her with the assistance of Miako Villanueva, who signed her questions and answered her answers.
The interview, which aired Tuesday on CBS Mornings, comes two days later Troy Kotsur became the first deaf male actor to win a Oscar. He took home the best supporting actor for his role in “Coda,” which won the Best Picture award.
About half a million people use ASL, which is not the English version of sign language, but their own language entirely, with its own grammar and sentence structure.
Stecker and Snyder spend hours each day preparing to read the news and topics on the White House agenda. When an event begins, Snyder listens and then plays Stecker, who signs in front of the camera.
“I’m interpreting from English to ASL, and I’m basically feeding Elsie, who then takes that message and interprets it,” Snyder said. “I call it real-time editing.”
The White House could have hired someone like Snyder to do the job, but it took the extra step of hiring someone who is completely deaf.
“Deaf people who are ASL users can see and identify that this is a deaf person signing on the screen,” Stecker said.
“Most hearing performers learned ASL, so they have an emphasis on ASL, where a deaf person, who grew up using ASL, doesn’t have the same type of accent,” he said. “Also, as deaf interpreters, we can assess what a deaf audience might need. That some kind of terminology is clearer than others, some things need a little more expansion and explanation.”
His work is helping to provide crucial information to a wider audience.
“We have our own skill set that manages to come together to deliver the most effective message to attract a community that has been marginalized for so long,” Snyder said.
“I’m not here for myself, to be in that position,” Stecker said. “I am here for the deaf community to have access to these messages.”
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