Stephanie A. Rodríguez is an Assistant Teaching Professor in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese Studies and Director of Lives in Translation at Rutgers–Newark. She is a PhD candidate in Bilingualism and Second Language Acquisition at Rutgers–New Brunswick. Her research focuses on translation technologies, human-computer interaction, bilingual language development, and language brokering. In 2025, she received the Rutgers Presidential Award for Excellence in Teaching and was a Chancellor's Scholar-in-Residence Fellow. Rodríguez is honored as a Dr. Cheryl Wall Fellow for 2026-2027. She is co-curator of A Feeling of Itself, a multimedia exhibition on bilingualism, translation, and language brokering.

Nonprofessional Translators in the Age of AI: Exploring Translator Aptitude and Human-Computer Interaction

Over 25 million Americans speak English "less than very well," facing significant barriers in accessing government services, healthcare, education, and community resources. Language barriers pose critical challenges, exacerbating inequities in navigating new sociocultural environments and accessing public information. Addressing these disparities is essential for ensuring equitable access for linguistically diverse communities. This project examines Spanish-speaking populations in the United States, the largest and fastest-growing LEP group, investigating language brokers' translation aptitude and their human-computer interaction with AI when translating public service content. As AI integration reshapes translation workflows among everyday users, this project examines how language brokers are redefining civic participation for linguistically marginalized communities at a critical policy moment.