From the President
Veronika Demichelis
president@atanet.org
Twitter: @vero_demi
I don’t know about you, but I always think of the beginning of a new year as a new start, an exciting opportunity to turn the page and open a new one. I’m not a “word-of-the-year” person, but I like to think about a focus area (or a few!) for the coming year.
Transitioning to a New Association Management System: One of the focus areas for ATA in 2024 will be the long-anticipated transition to the new association management system. I would like to thank the team at ATA Headquarters and Executive Director Kelli Baxter for their ongoing work to make it happen. Though the transition is ultimately going to require some time and patience, this new software will help us automate and streamline day-to-day tasks and, ultimately, serve our members better.
Growing and Supporting Divisions: Another important focus area for ATA in 2024 is working to strengthen our community. One aspect of this involves growing and supporting our internal communities in ATA. ATA divisions are the heart and soul of our Association, and I think we all refer to them as our professional home. Our division leaders and volunteers deserve our gratitude for all they do, and I encourage you to reach out to them and thank them for their work—or better yet, offer to help! Please consider getting involved in the ATA divisions you belong to. They need your ideas, talents, and energy to continue offering resources and learning and networking opportunities.
Joining Special Interest Groups: We also have other communities in ATA. As we all know, belonging to a professional community is about being around people with similar professional interests and skill sets. Not all T&I specializations and language pairs are represented by ATA divisions, so I’m very excited about our new pilot program for special interest groups (SIGs). At the meeting in Miami in October 2023, ATA’s Board approved the extension of the SIGs pilot program. The pilot will now run until this year’s Annual Conference, which takes place in Portland, Oregon, October 30–November 2, 2024.
I encourage you to join and get involved in our first three SIGs: Financial Translators, Interpreters & Translators in Education, and Southeast Asian Languages. If you have colleagues who would benefit from being a part of these groups, let them know! If this pilot program is successful, I hope we’ll see more SIGs in ATA.
Increasing Collaboration with T&I Organizations: Last but not least, my priority is to strengthen our collaboration with other translation and interpreting associations and organizations that share ATA’s mission. We can do so much more if we join forces when it comes to advocacy, professional development, and promoting the recognition of professional translators and interpreters, especially in the age of AI. We’re stronger together, and we can serve our members better, too.
As we prioritize and plan for 2024 and beyond, it’s vital for ATA’s leadership to hear from you. Please get involved and share what you’d like to see more of. You can reach out to any Board member. We’d love to hear from you!