Texas Society of Interpreters for the Deaf

What Texas Society of Interpreters for the Deaf does

Texas Society of Interpreters for the Deaf (TSID) is a 501(c)(6) professional membership organization founded November 16, 1963, making it the first professional organization of interpreters in the United States. Headquartered via a PO Box in Austin, Texas, TSID serves approximately 2,000 sign language interpreters across the state through a portfolio of programs including a membership program, a biennial conference (next iteration scheduled for San Antonio in 2026), a CEU Management System for continuing education tracking, a Scholarship and Trust Fund Program (Don England Trust Fund and Jonnie Duncan Student Trust Fund), a Mentorship Program named after Fran Herrington-Borre and Susan S. Tiller, and 12 specialized member sections covering sub-disciplines of interpreting practice. The organization maintains a 60+ year awards tradition dating to 1977.

TSID operates with no proprietary technology stack. Transaction processing — including membership dues, conference revenue, CEU processing fees, and general payments — is handled through the third-party Zeffy payment platform. There is no indication of in-house software development, AI/ML capability, or a data infrastructure layer. Member data, event registration, and CEU records are managed within standard nonprofit association tooling rather than a differentiated technology product.

The business model is a classic professional association revenue mix: individual membership dues form the recurring base, supplemented by biennial conference registration revenue (concentrated in event years), CEU processing fees for continuing education administration, and ancillary revenue from trust fund and scholarship activity. Go-to-market is direct to individual interpreters in Texas, with no enterprise or institutional customer segment. Jessica Harp serves as President, and the organization is staffed by 11-50 employees.

Name

Texas Society of Interpreters for the Deaf

Legal name

Texas Society of Interpreters for the Deaf

Website

https://tsid.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1963

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Texas Society of Interpreters for the Deaf (TSID) is a 501(c)(6) professional membership organization founded in 1963 that serves approximately 2,000 sign language interpreters across Texas through membership programs, biennial conferences, CEU management, scholarships, mentorship, and 12 specialized member sections.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Association Services

NAICS

Professional Organizations (81392), Business, Professional, Labor, Political, and Similar Organizations (8139), Translation and Interpretation Services (54193)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Sign Language Learning Programs (ASL/BSL, etc.) (EDAMAFAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

Note-Taking, Interpreting & Communication Access Services (EDALAGAD), Interpretation, Translation & Language Access Training (Community Interpreting) (EDAAADAJ)

Keywords

• Sign language interpreting
• Professional membership organization
• Interpreter continuing education
• Professional development services
• Deaf community services

Headquarters

HQ city

Austin

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: Annual membership fees aligned with fiscal year (July 1st – June 30th). Members receive discounts on conferences, access to mentorship, scholarships, professional development events, and networking opportunities.
2. Conference Revenue: Biennial conference (2026) with exhibitor and sponsor packages, registration tickets, and hotel room bookings. Additional conferences held in March, April, and June annually.
3. CEU Processing Fees: Processing fees for RID and BEI Continuing Education Units. Paid via PayPal or major credit cards through the Zeffy platform.
4. General Payments & Administrative Fees: Various administrative fees and support staff payments for conference operations. Uses 'pay what you can' model through Zeffy platform.

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Texas Society of Interpreters for the Deaf (TSID) is a non-profit professional membership organization that supports sign language interpreters working in Texas. It provides individual membership, an annual state conference, continuing education unit (CEU) management and processing, scholarship programs, and peer mentorship opportunities across approximately 11-12 specialized interpreter member sections.

Product overview

TSID is a professional membership organization offering a unified portfolio of services for sign language interpreters in Texas. The core offerings include membership with networking benefits, biennial conferences with CEU opportunities, a CEU management and tracking system for RID and BEI certifications, scholarship and trust fund programs, and a structured mentorship program. Additionally, TSID provides twelve specialized member sections covering various interpreter roles and settings (educational, legal, religious, trilingual, etc.). The organization connects nearly 2,000 interpreters across Texas through its network, with a mission to develop and strengthen the interpreting profession since 1963.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Individual Interpreter Membership

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• American Sign Language Teachers Association (ASLTA): A national professional organization for ASL teachers with a membership, conference, and certification model analogous to TSID's structure, focused on a closely adjacent segment of the Deaf/sign language professional ecosystem.
• Conference of Interpreter Trainers (CIT): A professional organization focused on interpreter training and educator development. CIT is closely comparable to TSID's Interpreter Educators member section and shares the mission of advancing interpreter professional standards.
• Telecommunications for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (TDI): A national nonprofit membership organization serving Deaf and Hard of Hearing consumers and professionals with advocacy and conference programming. Comparable to TSID as a membership-based organization in the Deaf ecosystem with policy and event offerings.

Regional players

• Texas School for the Deaf: A Texas state-funded educational institution for Deaf and Hard of Hearing students. Comparable to TSID as a Texas-based institution serving the Deaf community and a potential pipeline for interpreter trainees joining the profession.

Broad incumbents

• National Association of the Deaf (NAD): The premier U.S. civil rights organization of, by, and for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community. NAD is comparable as a Deaf-community-focused membership organization with conferences, advocacy, and member services, though with a different primary constituency than TSID.
• Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA): The leading U.S. organization representing people with hearing loss, with a national convention and chapter-based structure. Comparable to TSID in operating a membership and chapter model for a hearing-loss community segment.
• AG Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing: A membership organization supporting listening, speaking, and hearing technology for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community. Comparable to TSID as a long-established nonprofit membership body serving a hearing-loss constituency with conferences and member resources.
• Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID): The national professional membership organization for sign language interpreters in the U.S. RID is a broader incumbent offering overlapping CEU processing, advocacy, and national conferences, and is the most direct analog to TSID at a national scale.

Emerging players

• Deaf and Hard of Hearing Interpreting National Education (DHINE): An initiative (associated with the Described and Captioned Media Program) focused on interpreter education and training resources. Comparable to TSID's professional development and CEU offerings for interpreters working with Deaf and Hard of Hearing consumers.
• National Black Deaf Advocates (NBDA): A community-based advocacy organization for Black Deaf and Hard of Hearing Americans. Comparable to TSID's specialized member sections (e.g., Multicultural) in providing community-specific professional and advocacy support within the Deaf ecosystem.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/TSIDinfo

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Texas Society of Interpreters for the Deaf