Liberty Language Services is a full service agency providing total language solutions and language services to hospital systems, medical offices, legal firms, courts, public schools, federal, state and local government agencies, universities, private companies and more.
OUR MISSION
Liberty Language Services was founded to provide the highest quality language services at affordable prices. Liberty achieves these goals through comprehensive training and testing of interpreters, and by utilizing the latest technology to deploy those resources effectively.
We are honored to be a leading steward of the language services industry and as such, our promise is to continuously develop and improve upon our services. We do this to better our company and raise the bar of excellence for the entire industry.
Liberty Language Services contributes to communities by facilitating communication between two parties that wouldn’t understand each other without bridging that communication gap. Liberty is proud to be a company performing services that offer direct benefit to our society.
WHAT WE OFFER
Our core capabilities include on-site, face-to-face interpretation services, over the phone interpretation, interpretation for telehealth visits, and video remote interpretation. We also offer written translation and American Sign Language (ASL) services.
At your service is a scheduling team ready to receive and fulfill requests 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We offer unparalleled and quality services at an affordable cost.
WHAT WE BELIEVE
We believe in the promise of freedom and equality embodied by the Constitution of the United States of America; we understand that this is a nation of immigrants and we believe immigrants continue to build this nation’s future. That is why we are proud to work with talented, professional multilinguals, from all backgrounds, who have a passion for bridging communication with their language and culture skills.
We know that discrimination is a vile scourge that plagues most countries on Earth in one form or another. Only through mutual understanding can we overcome these societal challenges. Interpreters and translators play a critical role in erasing misunderstanding. The better trained and credentialed interpreters and translators are, the more effectively we can bridge that gap. Clear and accurate interpretation and translation are a critical need in every corner of our world.
We hope you join us in this effort in thought and spirit, to nurture an environment of acceptance, peace, and love for all our neighbors.
WHO WE ARE
Timothy T. Worster
Founder & CEO
A language access leader since 2008, Tim Worster sets standards that have raised the bar across the profession, working to make professional interpreting more affordable and streamlined, advocating for credentialing, and further professionalizing the field of interpretation and translation. He co-founded Liberty Language Services in 2011.
With a variety of business experience serving many industries for more than a decade, Tim has built a robust education center at Liberty Language Services and increased the professional profile of interpreters in Virginia and throughout the region and U.S.
Tim holds a Business Administration degree from Colorado Technical University; his wealth of knowledge in Information Technology makes him a strong asset to the industry. He served on the board of directors of the Virginia Interpreters and Translators Association (VITA) from February 2020 to February 2022, and collaborates with and supports many other industry organizations.
Shahela Sharmin
Owner & Co-Founder
When Shahela Sharmin immigrated to the United States in 1991, she saw firsthand the struggles immigrants face as they try to assimilate into our society. Her father and mother worked hard to provide their children with an education and the chance to make a better life for themselves. Shahela co-founded Liberty Language Services in April 2011 with her husband Timothy Worster, to give back to her community and help immigrants like herself have a voice in the events that occur in their lives.
Beyond language services, Shahela is a detail-oriented and self-motivated professional with more than ten years of experience in software quality assurance and software testing in various industries, projects, and environments. She specializes in SQL statements for backend testing and manual testing of client-server, standalone, and web-based applications on windows and UNIX platforms.
Shahela earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science in 2004 from George Mason University. She also holds CompTIA Security+ Certification SY0-401 and has a security clearance of Active DOD Secret.
Sameh Abdelkader
Co-Founder & Education Director
Sameh Abdelkader, Director of Education, is the lead instructor for two medical interpreter training courses: the nationally recognized 40-hour Bridging the Gap (BTG) course and The Professional Medical Interpreter. Since 2012, Sameh has delivered the BTG course to over 1,000 students.
With 20 years of experience in education, Sameh brings strong skills in management, teaching, training, recruitment and cultural competency to our organization.
Sameh holds a B.A. in English from Zagzig University in Sharkya, Egypt. In addition to being a licensed trainer for BTG and The Community Interpreter, he is also a licensed trainer for our legal interpreter training course The Language of Justice. As an educator and member of the IMIA, he adheres to the IMIA Educators Code of Ethics.
Sameh was the recipient of 2015 IMIA Distinction in Education Award.
Silvia Villacampa
Managing Director
Silvia Villacampa, Managing Director, has been part of Liberty Language Services since 2012, and has overseen the establishment of the largest pool of qualified and trained medical interpreters in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. Prior to joining the company, she was a freelance medical interpreter in the Washington, D.C. metro area and volunteered as a medical interpreter for the Arlington Free Clinic.
Silvia has more than 20 years of bilingual English/Spanish experience at Federal health information centers such as the Office on Women’s Health, the HHS Office of Minority Health Resource Center and AIDS info, as well as with local and international health programs.
Silvia has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the University of Mary Washington. She achieved national certification as a Certified Medical Interpreter in 2013. She also serves as editor of Liberty’s professional development online newsletter for interpreters.
Misti Houglum – SHRM-CP
Language Services Manager / Human Resources Manager
Misti Houglum is the Language Services Manager for Liberty Language Services. She started her position with Liberty as a part-time Scheduling Coordinator in 2014 and has since, worked her way to a management position where she works directly with Liberty staff, clients, and interpreters to ensure every service we provide meets high quality standards.
Prior to her work for Liberty, Misti Houglum worked for a local domestic abuse shelter and prides herself in her abilities to listen attentively and help people resolve any issues they may face. Although her degree prepared her professionally to be an art teacher, she applies the knowledge she gained in college to help prepare and train interpreters to be the best they can be.
Misti has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Art Education from South Dakota State University from 2013. She has also completed a Human Resources Management Certification course through George Mason University in 2020. She received her SHRM-CP (Society for Human Resource Management) – Certified Professional in February 2021.