The ATA Chronicle - May/June 2020 - 7

CANDIDATES ANNOUNCED

ATA ELECTIONS | 2020 ANNUAL
CONFERENCE BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS

FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
WALTER BACAK, CAE
walter@atanet.org

Board Meeting Highlights

F

or the first time since December
20051, ATA's Board of Directors
did not meet in person. The Board
met online April 18, 2020, for the
Spring Board meeting. The meeting was
originally scheduled for Alexandria,
Virginia, but was cancelled due to the
COVID-19 pandemic. Here are some
highlights from the meeting.
Budget: The Board approved the July
1, 2020-June 30, 2021 working budget
and the 2021-23 draft budgets. ATA
Treasurer John Milan walked through
the budget planning process and the
challenges with financial forecasts
and the pandemic. The proposed
$2.6-million working budget includes
a reduction in membership and
conference revenues. The working
budget provides an interim financial
framework. By using this interim
budget, changes and revisions can
be made based on the actual yearend figures. The final budget will be
approved at the next Board meeting.
Proposed Bylaws Revisions: The Board
approved putting forward revisions
to the Bylaws to be approved by the
membership at the Annual Meeting of
Voting Members, October 22, 2020, in
Boston, Massachusetts. The proposed
revisions clarify the proposed changes to
the rights and privileges of membership
and certification and replace the
proposed changes previously approved
at the October 2019 Board meeting.
www.atanet.org

Advocacy: ATA President and Advocacy
Committee Chair Ted Wozniak briefed
the Board on the committee's efforts.
The committee continues to work
toward legislation in California to
remedy the classification of translators
and interpreters as enacted in AB 5.
Ted noted that the need to focus on
California is due to the fact that many
states follow California's lead. We want
to get it corrected here so we don't have
this battle in other states as well.
Military Membership Discount: The
Board approved a two-year member
recruitment test by offering members
of the military a 50% discount on ATA
membership. The discounts are for
individuals who are currently active
duty or in the Guard or Reserves.
This proposal is part of the ongoing
work of the Government Linguists
Outreach Task Force to promote careers
in translation and interpreting for
those transitioning out of the service
who have been trained as linguists
in the military. The Task Force also
promotes private sector resources and
professional development opportunities
to government linguists.
Editorial Board Appointment: The
Board approved the appointment of
Jost Zetzsche as chair of the Chronicle
Editorial Board. Jost, who is an ATA
Gode Medal recipient, is a long-time
contributor to the Chronicle. He is

ATA will hold its regularly scheduled
elections at the upcoming 2020 ATA Annual
Conference in Boston, Massachusetts,
to elect three directors for a three-year
term. Further nominations, supported
by acceptance statements in writing by
each additional nominee and a written
petition signed by no fewer than 60
voting members, must be received by the
Nominating and Leadership Development
Committee by June 1. Acceptance
statements and petitions should be
submitted to Nominating and Leadership
Development Committee Chair David
Rumsey (ata-hq@atanet.org). Candidate
statements and photos of the candidates
will appear in the September/October
issue of The ATA Chronicle and on ATA's
website. The candidates proposed by the
Nominating and Leadership Development
Committee are:
Director (three positions, three-year terms):
Robin Bonthrone
Veronika Demichelis
Tony Guerra
Manako Ihaya
Elena Langdon
Lorena Ortiz Schneider

the columnist for the GeekSpeak and
Resource Review-both look at tools
to help translators and interpreters do
their jobs.
The Board meeting summary is posted
online. The minutes will be posted once
they are approved at the next Board
meeting. Past meeting summaries and
minutes are also posted online at www.
atanet.org/membership/minutes.php. The
next Board meeting is set for August 1-2,
2020. A decision will be made closer to
the meeting as to whether it will be an
in-person or online meeting.
NOTE
1.	
A special meeting of the Board of Directors
was conducted via conference call to
discuss the certification program.

American Translators Association

7
http://www.atanet.org/membership/minutes.php http://www.atanet.org/membership/minutes.php http://www.atanet.org
The ATA Chronicle - May/June 2020

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