It’s an honor to be considered for a position on ATA’s Board of Directors.

I’m a 45-year veteran of the language industry. I’ve witnessed and experienced numerous changes in how we practice our professions throughout my career, and I’ve decided I don’t want to be a victim. Instead, I want a role in how those changes impact my profession and colleagues. I also believe that professional associations should play a role in helping their members adopt changes that enhance their performance.

My involvement with ATA has included volunteering in the marketing group, serving as Assistant Administrator and Administrator of the Interpreters Division, and serving on the Portuguese Language Division Leadership Council. Additionally, I served as Director and President of the Association of Translators and Interpreters of Florida (ATIF), an ATA chapter, presenting at and organizing conferences. I’ve spoken and written about our work and served as an ATA mentor. I’ve also served as a grader and continue to conduct workshops to help candidates for ATA’s certification exam.

I’m very proud of the projects developed while leading the Interpreters Division—coordinating the creation of the Interpreting Booklet, later published as Interpreting: Getting It Right, and the American Red Cross/ATA Partnership, which was implemented under the leadership of Past ATA President Scott Brennan and executed during Past ATA President Marian S. Greenfield’s term. Our volunteers manned the American Red Cross Call Center in Falls Church, Virginia, during Hurricane Katrina. I’m also proud of having co-founded ATIF in 2009.

I’ve also worked with other professional associations. I was editor of The NAJIT Observer (National Association of Judiciary Interpreters and Translators) for many years, Director and Interim Vice President of the National Board of Certification for Medical Interpreters, and President of the Brazilian Association of Translators and Interpreters (Abrates), where I’ve been a mentor for many years. Currently, I’m also a member of the ASTM F43 Committee on Language Services and Products, as well as Toastmasters International, where I currently serve as Vice President of public relations for the third time.

This history has impressed upon me the need to support the structures around us to help them stay current, remain relevant, and provide us with the support we need to stay responsive to changes and reach our full professional potential.

If elected to ATA’s Board, my goal is to apply my leadership and team development experiences, among other things, to focus on:

• Remaining involved in the standards development organizations to keep our members informed and able to apply standards in their operations.
• Disseminating and implementing the use of translation consumer labels to differentiate our professional work from others.
• Actively educating our members on the standards promulgated by ISO, ASTM, and regional entities, such as ABNT in Brazil.
• Actively offering learning opportunities to enable our members to integrate AI into their professional experience.
• Promoting interdivisional projects, supporting greater knowledge exchange.

I look forward to working with the Board, chapters, affiliates, and members to ensure that the ATA we love remains relevant, up to date, and delivers to us, its members, what we need.