Dr. Marvyn Tipps, TAPIT co-founder, has been a freelance translator and interpreter for more than 20 years. She is accredited by the American Translators Association, in Spanish to English and from English into Spanish. In 1989, she attained certification in California as an Administrative Hearing Interpreter and, in 1991, she became a Federally Certified Spanish Court Interpreter.  Dr. Tipps has both attended and been a guest speaker at many workshops on interpreting and translation for court personnel, as well as for translators and interpreters. With a Ph.D. in Hispanic Studies from Brown University, she has taught general and specialized courses at Belmont University and Nashville State Technical Institute, written over 50 articles in the field and in trade journals, and is most recently co-author of  The Comprehensive Healthcare Interpreter, a textbook for healthcare interpreters.