Our founder, Carol Velandia, featured on the Echoes of Meaning Podcast where she spoke about her lifelong mission to make language access an essential part of equity and inclusion in public services. At Equal Access Language Services, our work has always been guided by a simple but powerful belief: true inclusion begins with the right to speak and be understood in your own voice. That belief is at the heart of our founder, Carol Velandia’s journey as an advocate, social worker, interpretor, and entrepreneur. From her earliest experiences as a hospital interpretor to her leadership today as an educator and policy voice, Carol has been relentless in shining a light on how often society takes communication for granted — and how damaging that can be for millions of people.

True language access begins by centering the Limited English Proficient (LEP) community — the individuals for whom these services exist. Their voices must lead every step of the movement.

Every person immigrating to the United States is seeking a life free from persecution, poverty, violence, or other hardships. These individuals, including myself, actively contribute to making America great, bringing our intellect, passion, and labor to enrich this nation daily. Our voices deserve to be heard regardless of the language that we speak.

How Doing Good Means Doing Well in Our Industry

Explore how Executive Order 14224 impacts language access in healthcare, education, and legal services—what it means for civil rights, LEP individuals, and the vital work of interpreters and translators.

The recent executive order designating English as the official language of the United States threatens decades of progress in language access.

The significance of language services and their impact on critical areas such as healthcare, legal systems, education, social services, and business.

Let's explore why medical interpretation is crucial, how it impacts patient outcomes, and what challenges and solutions lie ahead.

Language interpretation ensures that everyone can fully participate in legal proceedings and understand their rights.

Ensuring language access in healthcare settings is crucial for addressing these challenges and we believe it is an essential human right.

“LEP” stands for “Limited English Proficiency” and it is an acronym used to describe those individuals that are not fluent in the English language.

Language Access: Offering multilingual communities, access to the same services as to English Speaking individuals.