Elizabeth Colón (President & Founder)

2007 marked an exciting year for Elizabeth Colón who founded Metaphrasis Language & Cultural Solutions, LLC. As a provider of interpreting and translation services, she launched Metaphrasis with the simple intention of empowering quality businesses with quality language services. Through Elizabeth's efforts, Metaphrasis currently has contracts with such distinguished healthcare facilities as Northwestern Memorial Hospital, NorthShore University HealthSystem and Advocate Health Care.

For the past 25 years Elizabeth has worked in different areas of the healthcare industry where she also immersed herself in community outreach programs. In 2000, she became Director of a large non-profit interpreting agency in Chicago and strategically positioned the agency to capture a huge market share in the area. In 2006 she was the recipient of a national scholarship to train as a cultural competency trainer through Network Omni Communication and delivered training to health professionals in over five states.

Her experience in both non-profit and for-profit environments enables her to fulfill the needs of many different business environments. She is currently a Board member of the Norwegian American Hospital Foundation and President of the Voice of Love non-profit organization.

Elizabeth was born in Chicago, but spent some of her young years living in Puerto Rico where she enriched herself in the culture and language. Having parents who were Limited-English Proficient (LEP) she is committed, through her company's mission, to provide equal access to services to the Latino community, as well as other diverse communities by eliminating disparities and language barriers. Along with her intense passion for languages, Elizabeth has become an outspoken and highly successful proponent of diversity by bridging communication gaps and promoting equal access to quality services through the use of trained medical interpreters.

She holds a Bachelor of Arts from DePaul University with a focus on Transformational Organizational Leadership.

Rosemary Wooley (Director of Business Development)

Rosemary Wooley is an accomplished sixteen year marketing professional and sales executive for one of the largest global brand imaging companies. She joined Metaphrasis in 2010 to help grow the company into new industries and locations. Her expertise includes creative execution of integrated marketing campaigns, implementation of innovative technology, enhancing client relations and new business development.

In addition to her work schedule, Rosemary finds time to be an active community member, frequently volunteering her time coaching team sports, serving on the Board of the Puerto Rican Arts Alliance, (dedicated to the preservation of the Puerto Rican culture and the promotion of Inter-cultural understanding and appreciation), and has served as Co-Chair of the DePaul University Hispanic Marketing Group. Rosemary graduated with honors from Illinois State University.

Svetlana Klyuchkova (Interpreter & Trainer)

Svetlana Klyuchkova is a full-time medical and legal interpreter with over 4 years of interpreting experience. Svetlana understands firsthand the excitement and challenges associated with an immigrant’s first few years in a new country. She moved to the US from Russia in 2001 shortly after receiving her Bachelor’s in linguistics from Astrakhan State Pedagogical University. She is actively involved in evaluating and mentoring new interpreters. Svetlana is currently pursuing her Master’s Degree in Marketing and International Business from Roosevelt University.

Abigail Romero (Interpreter & Trainer)

Abigail Romero is a medical and mental health interpreter with over 15 years of experience in the healthcare field. She has served as a physician’s assistant, domestic violence counselor, pharmacy technician, and behavioral therapist. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree from Loyola University and is currently completing her Master’s Degree in Health Administration. She is a member of the International Medical Interpreters Association (IMIA).

Allyse Sturdivant, Ph.D.

Allyse Sturdivant received her doctorate from Loyola University Chicago in Clinical Psychology. Her clinical work and community research has focused on cultural diversity and competence. Dr. Sturdivant has worked with diverse populations in outpatient, medical, mental health, school-based, and university-setting counseling centers. She has taught classes on culture-related issues at both Loyola University (Chicago), the University of Illinois, and provided training and consultation to providers throughout the state of Illinois on providing culturally competent patient care.

In addition to her work in the area of cultural competence, Dr. Sturdivant is a certified ESL instructor. She received her Cambridge accredited Certification in English Language Teaching to adults (CELTA) from Teaching House, New York. Dr. Sturdivant has taught English Language Learners (ELL) from various countries. She has taught courses of varying levels in New York and in Costa Rica. Her unique teaching style is a fusion of her clinical skills, international experiences, diversity training, and knowledge of the English language. Dr. Sturdivant works carefully with agencies and companies to make sure that diversity training or ESL courses are accurately tailored to help achieve desired outcomes.