CBS News Story on Masks Features Bilingva’s CEO Catherine Neyman

Bilingva founder and CEO Catherine Neyman appeared on KPIX 5 | CBS San Francisco’s Friday evening news in a story on how the deaf and hard of hearing are facing a new challenge during the pandemic that has mostly concealed people’s faces. Because they can no longer read lips or facial expressions behind a mask, they may encounter new communication challenges.

“They have to ask a person to show their lips so they can read them and understand what the question is or what they want to say,” Catherine Neyman told reporter Don Ford. “Of course, it’s very awkward, and it’s challenging.”

Bilingva, LLC is based in the Bay Area, and one of its services is sign language interpreting for local communities, government agencies, educational and medical institutions, law offices and large companies such as Google and eBay. The company specializes in translation, simultaneous and remote interpreting covering over 140 languages, localization and language training. From top-
tier Silicon Valley firms and international enterprises to the multiple departments of the City and County of San Francisco, Bilingva is a trusted language partner for the community in which it operates.

As an essential business, Bilingva is currently providing language support to the San Francisco Emergency Operations center as part of California’s response to coronavirus.