Janet Bonet (Omaha)

Statement: It has been an honor to serve NATI as aboard member and conference coordinator for the past during the past 9 years. One of the greatest responsibilities of an organization’s leaders is to mentor new generations of active members into leadership roles. If reelected, I will support up-and-coming leaders who are willing to take on the challenge of building NATI ‘For The Good Of The Profession. Medical interpreter certification and facilitating the further growth of the court interpreter training opportunities are my two areas of focus.

Bio: Janet Bonet is a native Nebraskan dedicated to improving language access. She is the founder and past President of NATI. She has served on numerous boards and committees of local and statewide organizations that are researching and promoting language access in the medical, legal, social services and educational scenarios. Most recently Janet has been selected to serve on the Global Advisory Council which is working on promoting the development of a national exam for medical interpreters. As a founder and past president of NATI and its current Secretary, she continues to dedicate time and passion to professional development for translators and interpreters in Nebraska. Janet’s life-long passion for Spanish carried her to Mexico where she earned a minor in Spanish with a major in Anthropology at the University of the Americas in Cholula, Puebla, where she completed the graduate course work in the T&I program there. Upon returning to Omaha, Janet entered the Masters Degree Program in Sociology at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, specializing in racial and ethnic relations. In response to the economic pressures and changing demographics of Omaha, Janet set up business as an interpreter and translator in 1989 with her husband, Jaime. She is a State Certified Court Interpreter (Spanish/English) in Nebraska and Iowa. Her passion is learning and sharing her knowledge for the continued professional development of her colleagues and the public that utilizes language services. Janet has presented numerous seminars, workshops and trainings, and organized conferences and meetings for several community activities and agencies’ events.