SALEM, MA – As part of the City of Salem’s ongoing commitment to equity and inclusion, Mayor Dominick Pangallo is pleased to announce that 14 municipal employees have successfully completed an advanced professional development workshop series focused on language access, oral interpretation, and written translation. This initiative reflects Mayor Pangallo’s dedication to expanding Language Access across city services and represents a major step forward in ensuring all Salem residents can access vital information in the language they understand.
The workshop series, titled “The Core Principles of Language Access,” was offered through a partnership between the City of Salem and the Edwin C. Gentzler Translation Center at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. The workshop series spanned eight months and covered topics such as ethics in language services, interpreting and translation techniques, cultural proficiency, and the development of a practical Language Access Service Toolkit. The training was led by Dr. Jennifer Love, who also developed the curriculum and instructional content. UMass Amherst students Adelyn Hoyt supported the program as both teaching assistant and the project manager. The initiative was guided by the vision and leadership of Dr. Regina Galasso, Director of the Gentzler Translation Center.
“Salem is committed to serving all in our community, and our work to ensure language access is a critical part of that commitment,” said Salem Mayor Dominick Pangallo, “I want to congratulate the City staff who completed this advance language training program and the team at UMass Amherst’s Edwin C. Gentzler Translation Center for their support of this important work. We want municipal services to be accessible and effective for everyone in Salem, and this initiative is in furtherance of that goal.”
“This program is a meaningful step forward for Salem’s Language Access work,” said Regina Zaragoza, Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for the City of Salem, who spearheaded the initiative. “We are incredibly proud of these employees who invested their time to strengthen their ability to interpret and translate for community members beyond their regular job duties.”
“It was an honor to lead language access training for the City of Salem,” Dr. Jennifer Love shared, “The sessions were marked by authentic participation and meaningful dialogue– it was inspiring to witness the City’s commitment to reflecting on and advancing equitable, intentional practices to better connect with its multilingual constituents.”
“I want to thank the City of Salem for this opportunity,” remarked Dr. Regina Galasso, “Please know that while we aim to share knowledge, effective practices, and professional experience with you so that you can better serve the City of Salem, we also all learn so much from our interactions. Thanks to this partnership a UMass Amherst undergraduate student, who is about to graduate, now has a more dynamic understanding of a Massachusetts community and languages within a city space. The Gentzler Translation Center better understands how to effectively work with city governments, and as a researcher and educator, I learn a lot about specialized training for translation and interpreting programs, and the benefits of experiential learning. Programs like this one help to initiate networks between citizens, students, academics, language service providers, and professionals.”
To support and sustain this effort, the City of Salem has also launched a stipend program for employees who continue to provide language support services outside their official job roles. Spanish is the most commonly spoken language in Salem after English, with more than 13% of the city’s population identifying as Spanish-speaking according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Other key languages include Portuguese, French, Russian, and Haitian Creole.
“Language access is a cornerstone of equity and DEI,” added Zaragoza, “By investing in the development of our bilingual staff and creating incentives to maintain these essential services, we are actively removing barriers and fostering trust between city government and the communities we serve.”
This initiative aligns with Salem’s broader Language Access Policy, which prioritizes professional, responsive communication with linguistically diverse residents and aims to expand language access services citywide.
For more information about Salem’s Language Access initiatives, contact the City of Salem’s Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.
