Professional Photographers of America Expands Multilingual Access with Interprefy

Professional Photographers of America (PPA) is a nonprofit trade association representing more than 35,000 members. With a mission centred on supporting professional photographers and small businesses, PPA delivers education, advocacy, and community through year-round programmes and flagship events.

One of PPA’s largest initiatives is Imaging USA, an annual photography conference and trade show. In 2026, PPA partnered with Interprefy to provide AI-powered live speech translation and captions, expanding multilingual access for attendees across the event programme.

As Angela Kurkian,  Deputy CEO at PPA, explained:

Our role is to make sure photographers and small business owners have the tools, education, and support to succeed, and Imaging USA is a major part of how we deliver that.- Angela Kurkian, CEO, PPA

The Multilingual Challenge

Imaging USA 2026 marked PPA’s first full-scale initiative to offer multilingual access and live captions across the event. While some Spanish-speaking sessions had been available in the past, PPA wanted to take a broader step towards supporting Spanish-speaking attendees across a wider range of content.

This year we have a big initiative to better serve the entire Spanish-speaking community - Angela Kurkian, CEO, PPA 

Delivering multilingual access at a large-scale conference came with operational complexity. The programme included up to six simultaneous breakout rooms, meaning multilingual support needed to be consistent across multiple sessions running in parallel. PPA also required a solution that could be deployed reliably in a busy environment, without increasing pressure on their AV and technical teams.

The Approach

PPA evaluated several providers, including Wordly, but ultimately selected Interprefy due to a combination of competitive pricing, the ability to support the full event duration, and the reassurance of having professional support.

 We were also looking at Wordly, and I think the biggest thing was service, like knowing that we were going to have help on site, added Angela Kurkian

Interprefy worked closely with PPA’s event and technical teams to prepare for delivery across up to six breakout rooms. The project included onboarding and training, as well as guidance for the AV team responsible for managing the platform during live sessions. Interprefy also provided responsive technical support throughout the event.

 Melissa Thompson, Director of Events at PPA, highlighted the value of communication and real-time coordination: 

 Even just before we got on site, there was lots of communication back and forth, which built the confidence. In addition, having real-time support via WhatsApp during the event was extremely helpful for our AV team - Melissa Thompson, Director of Events at PPA 

Marnie Clagett, Director of Content at PPA, also highlighted the importance of reliability during live education sessions: 

Our sessions move fast and the schedule is packed, so we needed something we could trust without adding stress to our presenters or production team - Marnie Clagett, Director of Content at PPA 

Attendees accessed live captions and speech translation using the Interprefy Mobile App, with English-to-Spanish delivery available across the conference programme.

The Outcome

For PPA, Imaging USA 2026 represented an important first step in offering multilingual access at scale and strengthening inclusion across its community. Attendees who used the service responded positively, noting that it helped them follow sessions more easily and feel more included.

 We heard so many wonderful things from people who were just so grateful that it existed — said  Marnie Clagett

Leanne White, Event Manager at PPA, reflected on the operational requirements of supporting multiple breakout rooms: 

You need to have somebody dedicated to do this, otherwise... you need someone else to be the guy in the chair who’s facilitating - Leanne White, Event Manager at PPA

From an operational perspective, PPA emphasised that Interprefy’s onboarding and support helped their AV team manage the complexity of multiple concurrent rooms.

Melissa Thompson, Director of Events at PPA, described the overall experience as highly positive:

It was a seamless transition from planning to execution and then seamless communications once we were on site as well - Melissa Thompson 

A strong first step towards more inclusive events

With Imaging USA 2026, Professional Photographers of America successfully introduced multilingual access and live captions across a large-scale conference programme. By partnering with Interprefy, PPA was able to support Spanish-speaking attendees while maintaining operational control across six breakout rooms.

Looking ahead, PPA plans to continue offering multilingual support at Imaging USA and would recommend Interprefy to other associations delivering large-scale, multi-room conferences.

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