HISTORY
MAMI's initial purpose was to ensure language service and equal access to immigrants in Central New York, ranging from Syracuse to Albany. Founded in 1998, MAMI has done so and beyond as the organization has served to well over 22,000 limited-English speakers alone in the Central New York area. Just a year after our incorporation, we recieved non-for profit status.

The following year, 2000, MAMI was honored with the SCORE Small Business of the Year Award. Then in January of 2003, MAMI recieved a grant for the Women's Fund of Oneida and Herkimer Counties to develop and teach a ground-breaking course on legal interpreting for survivors of domestic and sexual violence. As it stands today, we serve a dozen languages including Bosnian, Russian, Spanish, and Vietnamese, just to name the ones in most demand. In Winter, 2004, with a grant from the Community Foundation of Oneida and Herkimer Counties, MAMI initiated a 24/7 service for on-site and telephonic interpreting. In June 2005, MAMI taught a new course on mental and behavioral health interpreting, one of the first the US. MAMI Interpreting have their own organization for professional development: the MAMI Alumni Association.


MILESTONES:

-Granted SCORE Small Business of the Year Award for 2000.

-Conducted first in Upstate New York Interpreter Training to Assist Survivors of Domestic and Sexual Violence in January 2003

-Conducted fourteen trainings Introduction to Medical Interpreting (70 hours) and 14 sets of MAMI Certifacate exams in medical interpreting.

-Medical Interpreter training complete by 140 bilinguals working in Central New York, mainly refugees and immigrants, in Arabic, Bosnian, Burmese, Cambodian, Farsi, French, Maay Maay (Somali), Russian, Spanish, and Vietnamese.

-MAMI 24/7 launched in December 2004, providing on-site and telephonic interpreting at all times, including after-hours and weekends.

-Course on Interpreting for Mental and Behavioral Health launched June 2005, one of the first in the US.

-MAMI opens office in Syracuse in 2006.

MAMI launches "Refugees Drive to Succeed," a special driver education program for refugees.