A2SL was founded in January of 2008, out of a desire to serve our community. The current owner, Lori Dowds, has seen numerous changes to the field of sign language interpreting. Decades ago, interpreters were helpers for Deaf people, assisting them in many ways out of a feeling of benevolence. Today, we’ve come a long way in understanding that often “helping” meant disempowering the very people they served. By continual training, direct experience in the field, and constant vigilance, A2SL maintains a professional body of interpreters and qualified sign language service providers ready to facilitate the communication process between both our Deaf and hearing consumers. It is easy in our field to become complacent, allowing professional standards to slip. A2SL was born out of a deep need to raise those standards back to a level where we can best serve the community.