Delia Mott Merritt
Owner and Sign Language Interpreter
Delia is a UT Austin graduate and has been a certified freelance interpreter since 1989. She is Texas Board of Evaluators of Interpreters (BEI) certified at Level III, and has her Court Interpreter Certification (CIC). Working for Texas School for the Deaf, Travis County Services for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin Community College, and the Central Texas community has given her extensive knowledge of interpreter ethics, protocol, Deaf culture and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Delia’s passion for working with the Deaf community began at the age of 5, when a Deaf classmate befriended her. At 16yrs, she was interpreting for the Director of the El Paso Center for the Deaf. Little did she know then that the seed for Communication by Hand had been planted.
Today, she works tirelessly to ensure the Deaf community has access to great interpreters 24 hours a day. She supports Deaf businesses and advocates for equal access for the Deaf community. Through her Connecting Workshops, she enjoys educating the hearing community about Deaf culture and interpreting services. Her open-door philosophy, dedication to serving others and kindness has earned her the appreciation and trust of interpreters, businesses, and Deaf community.
Katie-Mae Calhoun
Billing Coordinator
Katie-Mae hails from Odessa, TX. Upon entering the workforce with TXDOT, she made her way up into the world of accounting. Her attention to detail, accuracy and kindness are appreciated by our interpreters and customers. Katie-Mae is a gifted artist and grew up creating set design for the Globe Theatre’s plays, as well as other artistic ventures. She’s the creative talent behind our birthday cards and has earned the label “Mother of Dragons” as she creates elaborate dragons which she sells on Etsy. She is actively learning American Sign Language (ASL) and enjoying every minute of it.
Jackay Butler
Interpreter Coordinator
Jackay moved to Austin, TX from southern IL in 2014 after graduating from John A Logan College with an Associates in American Sign Language Interpreting and Deaf Studies. Jackay fell in love with American Sign Language in Elementary school when she met her first Deaf Friend. She went on to have many long-term and meaningful relationships with people in the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community. She is an identical twin and has a set of twin brothers as well. She has two children, 1 being a CODA (Child of a Deaf Adult) and the other belonging to her twin sister. In her free time, she creates custom bouquets with fruit and flowers. She enjoys serving our Deaf community and growing in the Deaf World. She thoroughly enjoys taking your phone calls and making access to our interpreters effortless.
Michaela Scheld
Interpreter Coordinator
Michaela is a Floridian by birth and Austinite by choice. She started learning ASL in 2009 and immersed herself into Deaf Culture. She started her own ASL Club at her high school. Over 300 students enrolled for the club, which inspired the district to implement it as a foreign language course. She got her Associates Degree in ASL Interpreting and Deaf Culture from University of South Florida (Go Bulls!). She moved to Austin in 2017 with her fiancé Liz and Dachshund, Oakley. She enjoys the eclectic culture, live music, and the enticing food scene. On the weekends, she can be found at dog friendly brunch spots, centering herself in nature, or snuggled up with her family watching true crime documentaries. She loves creating a relational experience with our customers and clients.
Photographs by Michael Samaripa and Elijah Dow Merritt (EDMphotography)
