Hello, I’m Ana María

Based in the Pacific Northwest, USA, I’m a neurodivergent communication scholar and community educator.

I combine my academic background, professional expertise, and lived experience as a Gifted and autistic person to reimagine how we communicate across neuro-differences.

Fundamentally, I care about research-informed systems, transformational frameworks, and empowering imaginations that can help us build more more effective approaches to cross-neurotype communication.

On a personal note, I’m a third culture kid (and native Spanish speaker), a mother, a playful creative, and lover of books, beauty, and imagination.

Academic Background

My studies have focused on personal and interpersonal dimensions of communication, all based in fields with a non-pathologizing approach to differences:

  • Master of Arts in Spanish Linguistics, with a special focus on politeness theory

  • Certificate in translation studies in Spanish-English translation

  • Several certificates in medical, legal, & community interpretation, as well as a trained trainer in community interpretation

  • Certificate in intercultural communication studies from the Intercultural Development Research Institute

Professional expertise

My work experience has focused on interpersonal and systemic dimensions of communication, with a focus on systems design and education:

  • Designed systems & training inside organizations (public education and refugee resettlement) and the larger community to help ensure language access

  • Facilitated communication across language (& cultural) differences for 10+ years as an interpreter and translator

  • Trained & supervised interpreters (communication facilitators) representing more than 40 different languages

Currently learning about

My current areas of study as I continue to explore autism, communication, and future-focused change from OUTSIDE the medical model:

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“Words are events, they do things, change things.

They transform both speaker and hearer;

they feed energy back and forth and amplify it. They feed understanding or emotion back and forth and amplify it.”

Ursula K. Le Guin (source)