Meet our Interpreters

Elizabeth Galindo

Facility: Union City
Language:Spanish
Hours:Monday-Friday 8:30-5:00
About Me: I was born and raised in Oakland, California and three months out of the year I lived in Mexico City until I was eighteen. Spanish is my first language. I have been interpreting professionally as a healthcare interpreter for the last eight years. The last five years I have been interpreting at Kaiser Hayward/ Union City, San Francisco and Oakland. Prior to working at Kaiser I interpreted at various Bay Area Hospitals and Clinics as an Independent contractor.

I received my initial training at the National Hispanic University and The Language Cooperative. I received my certification at San Francisco City College as a Healthcare Interpreter. I have also trained prospective interpreters and assisted as a language coach with The Language Cooperative in Oakland. I am also a member of CHIA, California Healthcare Interpreter Association. In my leisure, I enjoy spending time with my three children. My hobbies include playing softball, volleyball and dancing.

Colette Ogata

Facility: Fremont Medical Center
Language:Spanish
Hours:Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday 8:00am-4:30pm
About me: I was born in Oakland, raised in Hayward and Fremont, CA. I began working at Kaiser Hayward in 1992 as a Unit Assistant in the Surgery Department. A few years later I transferred to the Interpreting Services Department.

I studied Spanish for three years in high school and continued coursework in Spanish at Chabot College. I received certification for Medical Assistant and Medical Transcription in 1992. More recently I studied Spanish along with Spanish medical terminolgy in Cuernavaca, Mexico in 1999. I received certification from the University of California Berkeley, in Professional sequence in Intepretation Theory April 2001, and from San Francisco City College, in the Healthcare Interpreting program May 2002.

I am married and have two beautiful girls. There are many things in life I enjoy such as traveling, jet skiing, dirt bike riding and playing the accordian.

Diane Lee

Facility: Union City/Hayward
Language:Chinese (Cantonese and Mandarin)
Hours:Monday, Tuesday and Thursday 1:30-5:00 UNION CITY CAMPUS

Wednesday and Friday 1:30pm-5:30pm HAYWARD CAMPUS

About Me: I was born in Shanghai, China. Because of my family background, I was fortunate to learn 3 Chinese dialects, Cantonese, Mandarin and Shanghai dialect. We moved to Hong Kong when I was 9 years old.

In Hong Kong, children start learning English in first grade, so I had to take special language classses to catch up. After graduating school, I held many jobs including telephone operator at Hilton Hotel and operated a travel agency. Since moving to the United States, I have worked at an answering service, as a hotel switchboard operator, secretary, information agent at the San Francisco International Airport, and raised a family with three wonderful daughters. While I worked as a free lance interpreter for immigration court, I completed the health care interpreter program at San Francisco City College.

Now working as an interpreter in Kaiser Permanente in Union City, I am fortunate to have found something I truly enjoy doing, using my skills to help people communicate with their healthcare providers so they can make decisions on their health and the health of their families.

Emily Hinchman CI/CT,BA

Language: American Sign Language
Facility: Fremont
Hours: Monday-Friday 8:30a.m.-5:00p.m.
About Me: I am the second of four girls raised in the Bay Area. I was fortunate enough to take my first sign language course while attending high school in San Francisco in 1992. It was at that point I knew I wanted to continue learning American Sign Language. Fortunately, the Bay Area has provided me with quality instruction opportunities to acheive my goals.

I attended Vista College in Berkeley taking various American Sign Language courses. I then went on to graduate from Ohlone College Interpreter Training Program in 2002. In an effort to further profesionalize myself I received a BA degree in 2004. I look forward to pursuing a Master's Degree.

I am currently working as a Certified Sign Language interpreter serving the Deaf and Hard of Hearing communities of the Bay Area. I have both my Certificate of Transliteration and my Certificate of Interpretation from the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf. I feel truly blessed to have the opportunity to serve this rich community. Though I have experienced many different interpreting settings from corporate to education, I have always felt drawn to medical interpreting. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to serve the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community members of Kaiser Permanente.

When I am not interpreting I am a High school Dance teacher in a after school program. Dancing has been a great life long passion and a wonderful creative outlet. Both Dance and Interpreting have broadened my knowledge of self and my awareness of the common human experience.

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