Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of ChicagoAmericans Against Language Barriers
2nd Joint Conference

2026 Lurie Children’s & AALB Conference

2026 Theme
True Language Access: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow.
August 15–16, 2026Chicago + Virtual$210 / $10510+ CEU hours
Register Now
Featured Speakers

Voices shaping the field.

A growing lineup of the clinicians, interpreters, and advocates leading the work on language access, with more to be announced.

Elizabeth Even
Keynote Speaker

Elizabeth Even

The Joint Commission
Senior Director, Field Operations
“The Standards That Protect Patients: A Joint Commission View on Language Access”

Elizabeth Even is a nurse with over 20 years of clinical and leadership experience who currently serves as Senior Director of Field Operations for the Division of Accreditation and Certification Operations at The Joint Commission. In this role, she provides strategic and operational leadership for ACO field operations, including strategic planning, budgeting and financial management, workforce planning, talent acquisition and retention, employee engagement, education, and the execution of field-based programs and activities. Her work supports the organization’s strategic direction and advances consistent, high-quality, and customer-focused accreditation and certification operations.

Michael Mulé

Michael Mulé

“Lessons from DOJ’s Language Access Enforcement”
Civil Rights Attorney, Language Access Expert
Formerly U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division

Michael Mulé is a civil rights attorney with twenty years of experience advancing the rights of people who communicate in languages other than English. For fifteen years, he led national Title VI and language access initiatives at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) in the Civil Rights Division (CRT) and the Office of Justice Programs.

Danilo Formolo

Danilo Formolo, MBA, CHI™

“Why Hospitals Still Get Language Access Wrong: The Uncomfortable Truth”
CEO & Founder
Affinity Language Systems

Danilo Formolo is the CEO and Founder of Affinity Language Systems, an organization focused on building human and technology-enabled language access infrastructure. He serves as a CCHI Commissioner and treasurer, and spent 21 years building the largest healthcare-based language access program in the nation at Atrium Health. As Associate Vice President of Language Access, he created a large, scalable infrastructure through technology, efficiency, and strategy to improve access across four states with a team of nearly 200 medical interpreters. Danilo earned Bachelor’s degrees in Management and International Business from UNC Charlotte, plus an MBA. He has delivered industry conference presentations around the country, is a Certified Healthcare Interpreter, and has served on various community boards and initiatives. Of Colombian and Italian heritage, his first instrument is the piano, and he has served as an organist and music director at various churches in the Charlotte, NC area.

Yuliya Speroff

Yuliya Speroff, CoreCHI-P™

“Promoting Health Equity Through Language Access: Case Study from Harborview Medical Center”
Medical Interpreter Supervisor
Harborview Medical Center, Seattle

Yuliya Speroff is a Russian–English CoreCHI-P™ and Washington DSHS-certified interpreter and Medical Interpreter Supervisor at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, Washington. Yuliya has extensive experience as a trainer, teaching both continuing education courses and introductory medical interpreter training programs for major professional organizations across the United States. Her passion for advancing the medical interpreting profession is reflected in multiple roles: she is the author of medicalinterpreterblog.com and serves as vice president of the National Council on Interpreting in Healthcare (NCIHC). Her contributions have been recognized nationally. She was named Interpreter of the Year by the California Healthcare Interpreting Association (CHIA) in 2021 and Trainer of the Year by Americans Against Language Barriers (AALB) in 2024.

Yuri Takabatake

Yuri Takabatake, MD

“Advancing Language Access Through Interprofessional Collaboration: The Language Access & Care Committee”
Attending Physician
Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago

Dr. Yuri Takabatake is an attending physician within the Division of Hospital-Based Medicine at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago. She is a language equity researcher and advocate, and has published on topics such as interpreter partnership during family-centered rounds. She is also the co-founder and co-director of Lurie Children’s Language Access and Care Committee.

Marisa Rueda Will

Marisa Rueda Will, CHI™-Spanish

“Speak Up: Using Front-Line Experience to Shape Federal Policy”
Founder & Lead Trainer
Tica Interpreter Training & Translations

Marisa Rueda Will is a veteran medical interpreter and trainer with over 18 years of experience at Mayo Clinic, where she rose to Level III and served as a Simulation Center Instructor. A certified Spanish healthcare interpreter (CHI™-Spanish) and Licensed Interpreter Trainer, Marisa holds a degree from Luther College and recently completed her Master’s in Interpreting Studies at Western Oregon University. She is actively involved in the industry, serving on the NCIHC Webinars Work Group and as a CCHI Commissioner, and presenting at major national conferences including ATA, CHIA, and CCHI. Today, she owns Tica Interpreter Training and Translations, where she specializes in education through storytelling, delivering professional training rooted in real patient experiences.

Wilma Alvarado-Little

Wilma Alvarado-Little

“Empowering Communication: Lessons from Language Access Past, Present, and Future”
Associate Commissioner
New York State Department of Health

Ms. Alvarado-Little has focused on racial and health equity from a linguistic and cultural perspective, alongside interests in public policy, research, health literacy, and health disparities prevention. As Associate Commissioner and Director of the Office of Minority Health and Health Disparities Prevention at the New York State Department of Health, she leads health literacy and language access initiatives and has been instrumental in developing and implementing hospital- and clinic-based programs and policy. As former co-chair of the board of the National Council on Interpreting in Health Care (NCIHC), she helped the Council achieve the first National Certification for healthcare interpreters, the National Standards of Practice, and the National Code of Ethics. She serves on the HHS Office of Minority Health’s National Project Advisory Committee for the review of the CLAS Standards, has served on the National Academies’ Roundtable on Health Literacy, and chaired the New York State Office of Mental Health Multicultural Advisory Committee. With more than 40 years of experience, she has been a strong voice for linguistically appropriate healthcare at the national, state, and local levels, participating in efforts led by the Joint Commission, the American Medical Association, and the HHS Office of Minority Health. Prior to becoming an independent consultant, she and SUNY colleagues received a 2009 National Institutes of Health grant supporting the Center for the Elimination of Minority Health Disparities at the University at Albany, SUNY, where she served as PI and Director of Community Engagement and Outreach.

Daniel Gutiérrez Mena

Daniel Gutiérrez Mena

“The Mindful Interpreter: Building Resilience, Deep Listening, and Trauma Stewardship in Medical Interpreting”
Medical Interpreter & Health Educator
Rush University Medical Center

Daniel Gutiérrez Mena, founder of AlbaHealth.us, blends yoga, mindfulness, and global healthcare experience to create transformative wellness education that connects individuals to their physical, mental, and spiritual dimensions. From his journey immigrating from Lima to Chicago to his work across clinical care, research, and health innovation, he integrates modern science with indigenous wisdom to help others rediscover their relationship with health and the Earth.

Patricia A. Alonzo

Patricia A. Alonzo, EdD

“The Persistent Gap Between Policy, Practice, and Professional Medical Interpreting”
Director of Strategic Partnerships
Equiti Health

Dr. Patricia A. Alonzo is a trilingual medical interpreter (English, Spanish, and ASL) with a Bachelor’s in ASL Interpreting, a Master’s in Educational Leadership, and an EdD in Organizational Leadership focused on the health outcomes of Limited English Proficient patients in healthcare settings. Currently Director of Strategic Partnerships at Equiti Health, she combines interpreting expertise with strategic leadership. Her interpreting career began in Chicago as a trilingual freelance interpreter and continued at Moffitt Cancer Center, providing critical language services to LEP patients. During her decade at Stratus/AMN Healthcare she grew through a range of roles, and as VP of Language Operations at Universal Language Services she led the organization through transformational growth. Dr. Alonzo holds CMI national certification and frequently speaks on language access, cultural competency, and legislation.

More speakers to be announced.

When
August 15 and 16
Aug 15: 9:30 a.m.–6:30 p.m.
Aug 16: 9:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m. CDT
Format
Hybrid Conference
In-Person and Virtual
Tickets
$210 / $105
In-person / Virtual
Accreditation
10+ hours of CEUs
Certificate for both days
Register Now
2026 Theme

True Language Access:
Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow.

A two-day exploration of where the field has been, where it stands, and where it has to go. Three lenses, one through-line: the patient’s right to be understood.

I
Yesterday

Where we came from.

We honor the educators, interpreters, and advocates whose decades of work laid the foundation for language access as a civil right.

II
Today

Where we stand.

We confront the gap between policy and practice in modern healthcare, where standards exist on paper but break down at the bedside.

III
Tomorrow

Where we are going.

We imagine the systems, training, and technology that could make true language access the default, not the exception, for every patient.

In-person venue
Lurie Children's
Streeterville · Chicago
The Venue

Lurie Children's.

Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago

One of the country’s leading pediatric hospitals, set in the heart of downtown Chicago’s Streeterville neighborhood. The conference takes place in Lurie Children’s conference facilities, with direct access from Michigan Avenue and the lakefront.

Address
225 E Chicago Ave, Chicago, IL 60611
Getting there
Short walk from the CTA Red Line. Streeterville parking garages within two blocks.
Registration

Choose your experience.

Join us in person at Lurie Children’s in Chicago, or attend live from anywhere in the world. Both options include the full program and CEU certification.

Standard pricing ends in

Save $15 per in-person ticket by registering through July 15.

Virtual
Attend from anywhere
$105USD
Standard pricing
  • Live stream of both days
  • On-demand recordings after the event
  • Digital program and speaker materials
  • CEU certificate of attendance
Register Now
In-Person
Join us in Chicago
Most Chosen
$210USD
Standard pricing
  • Both conference days at Lurie Children's, Chicago
  • Lunch and refreshments included
  • Printed program and conference materials
  • CEU certificate of attendance
  • Recordings to keep after the event
Register Now
Pricing schedule
WindowVirtualIn-PersonThrough
StandardNow$105$210Jul 15
Late$115$225Aug 15
Partners & Sponsors

Partner with us.

Sponsorship and exhibitor opportunities support the conference and reach a national audience of interpreters, clinicians, healthcare administrators, language service providers, and policy leaders.

A national audience

Interpreters, clinicians, administrators, language service providers, and policy leaders from across the country.

Real visibility

Your brand featured across the conference, on-site and in front of a highly engaged room.

A shared mission

Stand with two trusted institutions advancing language access in healthcare.

Proud to be joined by

CommunityHealth
Exhibitor
Certification Commission for Healthcare Interpreters
Exhibitor
The Chicago Diner
Food Sponsor
LanguageLine Solutions
Exhibitor
Multilingual Connections
Exhibitor
Become a Sponsor Become an Exhibitor
Just want your logo seen?Become a Supporter for $450 →your logo on the website and on-site.

The conference is presented jointly by Lurie Children’s and Americans Against Language Barriers, both 501(c)(3) nonprofits (EINs 83-3016421 and 36-2170833). The $450 Supporter level is logo recognition only, with no tickets or other benefits, so it is generally fully tax-deductible. For sponsorship and exhibitor levels that include tickets or a table, your payment may be deductible as a business expense, or as a charitable contribution to the extent it exceeds the value of those benefits. Please consult your tax advisor.

FAQ

Frequently asked.

01What is the conference about?
The 2026 Lurie Children's and AALB Conference is the 2nd Joint Conference of Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago and Americans Against Language Barriers. The 2026 theme, True Language Access: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow, explores the past, present, and future of language access in healthcare across two full days of talks, panels, and workshops.
02Can I attend virtually?
Yes. The conference is offered as a hybrid event. The Virtual ticket gives you a live stream of both days, on-demand recordings afterward, digital materials, and a CEU certificate of attendance. You can attend from anywhere in the world.
03Is the conference CEU accredited?
Yes. Attendees receive a CEU certificate of attendance for both days of the conference. Additional discipline-specific accreditation details will be announced as the program is finalized.
04How is registration priced?
The Standard rate is available now through July 15, then Late pricing applies through August 15. Virtual is $105 standard ($115 late); In-Person is $210 standard ($225 late). The Pricing section on this page shows the live schedule and which rate is active right now, so registering by July 15 locks in the lower rate.
05Where is the in-person venue?
Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, located at 225 E Chicago Ave in the Streeterville neighborhood of downtown Chicago. The hospital is a short walk from the CTA Red Line and from Michigan Avenue.
06What about parking?
Multiple Streeterville parking garages are within two blocks of the hospital. Attendees arrange their own parking.
07Is there a dress code?
Business casual throughout the conference. On Day 2 we invite attendees who feel comfortable to wear traditional or cultural clothing as a celebration of the linguistic and cultural communities we serve.
08How do I become a sponsor?
Visit our Sponsorship page to review the Silver, Gold, and Diamond tiers, as well as Food Sponsor, ASL Interpreter Sponsor, and Exhibitor Table options. There is also a $450 Supporter option for organizations that simply want their logo on the conference website and on-site; because it includes no tickets or other benefits, the Supporter level is generally fully tax-deductible. The conference is presented jointly by Lurie Children's and Americans Against Language Barriers, both 501(c)(3) nonprofits, and sponsorship or exhibitor levels that include tickets or a table may be deductible as a business expense, or as a charitable contribution to the extent the payment exceeds the value of those benefits. Please consult your tax advisor.
09Can I request accessibility accommodations?
Absolutely. ASL interpretation is provided throughout the conference, and the registration form includes a field for additional accommodations. You can also email us directly at contact@aalb.org.
Brought to you by
AALB and Lurie Children's joint mark

Two organizations,
one mission.

Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago
Host
Lurie Children's
Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago

One of the nation's top pediatric hospitals, ranked among the best in the country for children's care. Lurie Children's serves families from every linguistic and cultural community in the Chicago region and beyond.

Americans Against Language Barriers
Host
AALB
Americans Against Language Barriers

A 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to closing the gap in language access for healthcare, education, and public services. AALB convenes interpreters, advocates, clinicians, and patients around a single mission: no one should go without care because of the language they speak.

Dedicated to improving the quality of life for those facing language barriers by expanding their access to essential services.