Martha L.H. Ingel, MS.Ed. CI/CT, NC Licensed Interpreter
Faculty, Interpreter Education
Office Location: Cato 211
Office Phone: 704-330-4886
Office Video Phone for Deaf callers: 704-469-5910
Email address: Martha.Ingel@cpcc.edu
Martha began her interpreting career in 1990 in the Washington, DC metropolitan area, where
she interpreted in the community and for various institutions of higher learning including
Northern Virginia Community College, Georgetown University, George Mason University,
American University, at various Federal government agencies, and hospitals throughout the DC
metro area. In the course of her career, Martha has worked in a wide variety of settings
including medical, mental health, elementary, secondary, and post-secondary education,
business, community, political, performing arts, and video relay. She is NC State Licensed and
Nationally Certified by the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf.
Martha grew up just outside of Philadelphia, PA and her interest in ASL and interpreting began
in high school when she did an intensive work-based learning experience at the Overbrook
School for the Blind in their Deaf-Blind program. That same year, Martha signed up for an
evening ASL course offered at her local high school. Concurrently, she was actively involved in
theatre studies and worked and studied acting at the Society Hill Playhouse in Philadelphia. The
night after the Broadway play “Children of a Lesser God” won the Tony award Martha happened
to be in New York seeing the show, noticed one of the cast members was from Society Hill
Playhouse, and went backstage to greet him while they were basking in the glow of their Tony
award. Little did she know at that time how small the Deaf world is and that her path would
intersect in many ways with other cast members from the show and other professional Deaf
actors throughout her career.
Martha Ingel holds a B.A. in Drama with a minor in Secondary Education from The Catholic
University of America in Washington, DC and a M.S. Ed. from Capella University. Martha
chose Catholic University for undergraduate studies because of its proximity to Gallaudet
University. At the time, Gallaudet did not accept hearing students, but Martha knew she also
wanted to study American Sign Language. Martha volunteered in the Theatre Arts Program at
the Model Secondary School for the Deaf. After graduating from Catholic University, Martha
held many diverse jobs, continued to study ASL and interact with members of the Deaf
community. Among the positions she held was Director of Access for the Arena Stage in
Washington, DC where she worked with Deaf sign masters and highly skilled sign language
interpreters to produce the sign interpreted performances and community outreach programs for
the Deaf and hard of hearing community. Martha pioneered captioning programs for live theatre
while at Arena Stage. She has an extensive background in creating access services for people
with disabilities and her comments on making theatre productions accessible are incorporated
into the book “Design for Dignity: Studies in Accessibility” by William L. Lebovich.
Martha also worked as an interpreter with the Fairfax County Public School System at
W.T.Woodson High School. There she enjoyed interpreting in a diverse array of educational
settings including computer technology, graphic arts, automotive technology, and auto body
technology.
Martha has been an American Sign Language student since high school and remains a student of
English (her native language) and ASL to this present day. “Interpreters never stop studying or
learning the languages that they work with and we are always developing and building our
vocabulary and understanding of language usage to improve our skills. To be an interpreter is to
choose to be a life-long learner and to have a deep interest in exploring a diverse array of topics.
Language usage is not something that is static and one must keep up with the way people use
language to communicate in an extensive variety of settings and contexts. Interpreting is a
practice profession that is extremely challenging and rewarding. For interpreters, fluency in two
different languages is only the very beginning of what our work entails. We must have ethical
and critical thinking skills and the ability to think quickly and act decisively in many novel
situations.”
At CPCC, in addition to teaching, Martha has been involved in curriculum design and developed
the electronic portfolio process for student interpreters. She also serves on various committees
throughout the college including faculty senate, learning outcomes assessment, and the
curriculum committee.
Martha’s husband is a research scientist and they have two adult children who are both
professional dancers. Martha and her husband enjoy any opportunity to see dance performances,
particularly when their children are in them, theatre, and enjoying the companionship of their cat,
Mia, and their dog, a Sheltie named Barbar.
Favorite Food: Sushi
Hobbies: reading, jewelry-making, and keeping up with local, national and world events
Interests: Theatre, Dance, Music, and Soccer
Favorite T.V. Shows: Dr. Who, The Big Bang Theory, and just about any British sit-com
Courses Martha teaches at CPCC include, Introduction to Interpreting, Discourse Analysis,
Consecutive Interpreting, Simultaneous Interpreting I, Comparative Cultures, and Work-Based
Learning Seminars and Supervision I and II.