María Elena Cárdenas, one of the pioneers of professional court interpreting and a founding member of CITA, the Court Interpreters and Translators Association, later NAJIT, died in Miami on June 3 after a long illness.

After completing language and literature studies at Vassar, Cárdenas launched a career as a conference interpreter and later branched out, in the early 1970’s, into court interpreting, working primarily in the U.S. Attorney’s Office and in federal trials in New York. In the late 1970’s she spearheaded a movement to gather a handful of court interpreters into a professional association. She designed the CITA logo and became the association’s first president. An indefatigable fighter for better working conditions, Cárdenas insisted that simultaneous equipment and team interpreting be used in place of the "talk till you drop" solo whisper technique. Historically, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Manhattan had only used equipment and rotation for "important" trials, but under Cárdenas’s influence, equipment and rotation became the rule rather than the exception, with similar conditions prevailing for all trials. She was also the first translator of record to make use of the dual column system for translated tape transcripts. In 1978 she assisted in the planning and implementation phases of the federal Court Interpreters Act.

Originally from Havana, Cárdenas was a longtime New York resident who moved to Miami in the early eighties and taught interpretation at Florida International University and Miami Dade Community College. "I owe my profession to María Elena’s encouragement," said Guillermo Suquet, one of her former students. By all accounts her warm and personal sponsorship of her students and colleagues was a decisive factor in their professional development.

In the late 80’s she carved out another career as culinary expert and public relations specialist. She became president of the Latin Women’s Professional and Business Association and in 1992 was awarded the prestigious Floridiana prize by the Cuban Women’s Club.