Kellie L. Stewart, M.Ed., CI/CT, CSC, NC Licensed Interpreter
Chair, Interpreter Education Department
Office Location: Cato 213
Office Phone: 704-330-4833
Email address: Kellie.Stewart@cpcc.edu
“Teaching is more than imparting knowledge, it is inspiring change. Learning is
more than absorbing facts, it is acquiring understanding.” ~William Arthur Ward
A professional ASL-English Interpreter for over 30 years, Kellie brings a multitude of authentic
experiences to classroom instruction from a variety of interpreting disciplines, including court
rooms, law enforcement, education, medicine and trauma care, in-patient/out-patient mental
health services, social services, conferences, political events and video relay. “Remaining an
active practitioner has always been an important component of my teaching. As a ‘practice
profession,’ the field of interpreting constantly evolves. It is critical that those who guide
students into the profession be active practitioners, embracing the importance of both current
best practices in interpreting, as well as, current pedagogy within interpreter education.”
Kellie holds a Master’s degree in Education with emphasis coursework in teaching ASL/English
interpretation from Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts. She obtained a Bachelor’s
degree from the University of Massachusetts (Boston) in Legal Reasoning and Advocacy, a prelaw program, and an Associate’s degree in Interpreting from Columbus State Community
College (formerly Columbus Technical Institute) in Columbus, Ohio.
Shortly after graduating with her degree in interpreting, Kellie obtained national Registry of
Interpreters for the Deaf (RID) certification. After working for 3 years as a certified interpreter in
Ohio, she accepted a position as the first staff interpreter at the newly formed Massachusetts
Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (MCDHH) in Boston. During her tenure at
MCDHH, she specialized full-time in legal interpreting and coordinated court and legal
interpreters for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, a position she held for over six years.
After working in private practice for a short time, she accepted a position at Harvard University
interpreting for deaf undergraduate students. Kellie continued working with undergraduates, as
well as, consulting across campuses for the next 12 years until 2005, when her position was
resituated within the Disability Compliance Office at the University Administration level. In that
capacity, Ms. Stewart coordinated, hired and supervised interpreters, as well as, interpreted for
the students, faculty, staff and guests of the University. After more than 17 years working at
Harvard University, Kellie accepted a full-time teaching position at CPCC and relocated to
Charlotte with her family.
Teaching Ethics and Ethical Decision-Making has been a career-long passion. She began
teaching Ethics at Northeastern University in 1989, during an era when ethics was rarely taught
in a stand-alone course or considered an important aspect of on-going, professional dialogue.
She has taught countless courses and professional seminars across the US. “Interpreters with
ASL fluency and interpreting skills, who lack strong ethical decision-making skills have the
potential to cause tremendous harm to the Deaf Community and to hearing consumers.” In 2006,
Kellie Stewart and co-author, Anna Witter-Merithew, published the workbook entitled, “Ethical
Decision-Making for Interpreters.” This text is used in Ethics courses across the US, including
here at Central Piedmont Community College. In addition to teaching traditional courses at
Northeastern University for 20 years, Kellie also has taught on-line courses for 12 years for the
Do-It Center at the University of Northern Colorado, and has taught Ethics on-line at the
University of Southern Maine.
Kellie lives in Concord, NC, with her husband, two sons, and their beloved, four-legged, furry
member of the family, Chewy. She loves the outdoors, camping, hiking and being in the
Mountains when time allows.
Courses Kellie teaches at CPCC include: ASL/English Translation, Introduction to Interpreting,
Simultaneous Interpreting II, Ethical Decision-Making, and ASL Linguistics.