The ATA Chronicle - September/October 2021 - 12

I enjoy dialogue and
collaboration and thrive
when working on tasks that
help improve the future of
our profession.
As a freelance ATAcertified
English>Russian
translator, I understand the
joys and challenges of our
profession. And thanks to my
previous corporate career,
I have a strong background
in administration, human
resources, communications,
and social responsibility. I
believe that my skills in these
areas will be useful in taking
ATA to the next level.
If elected, I will continue
to work tirelessly to
strengthen ATA. To this
effect, I would focus on:
y Ensuring the high quality
of educational and
networking sessions and
the financial success of
ATA's Annual Conference.
y Growing member services
and programs to satisfy
the needs of our members
and position ATA as a
place to be for translators,
interpreters, and other
language professionals.
y Providing a variety of
avenues for members to
network and support
each other.
y Promoting ATA's mission
and raising the profile of
professional translators
and interpreters and
our commitment to
high standards of
practice, ethics, and
professional development.
I would be honored to
get your vote and use my
expertise and skills for the
benefit of ATA.
President-Elect
Two-Year Term
Geoff Koby, CT
Geoff@KobyTranslation.com
I'm honored to
be nominated
for presidentelect.
More than
a livelihood, translation is
my passion, which is why
I've served ATA in a number
of different roles. In 1995,
while teaching translation
at Kent State University, I
started working as a parttime
translator to keep my
knowledge and skills current.
Over the past 25 years, I've
focused on business, legal,
and financial translation while
researching translation quality
and training translators.
If elected, I will focus on
member needs, specifically
on advocacy. Advocating
for our individual members
is a fundamental task of
our Association to raise
the profile of professional
translation and
interpreting. Advocacy also
means using the combined
voice of over 9,000 ATA
members to work toward
improving the larger
translation and interpreting
professions. Since finishing
two terms on the Board
in 2020, I've continued to
work for the Association.
This January, the Board
appointed two ad hoc
committees to consider
aspects of our professional
lives. As chair of both, I
nominated members with a
wide variety of viewpoints.
One committee explored
a National Registry of
Individual Translators and
Interpreters to respond
to legislation classifying
freelancers as employees,
12 The ATA Chronicle | September/October 2021
such as California's
AB5. The thought is to
register all independent
professionals so that we
can keep our freedom as
independent contractors.
The other committee
is studying a basic ATA
credential for translators
to possibly create ways
for translators to be
recognized for competence
in languages not available
for certification. On both
of these committees,
I'm working for our
individual members.
Another area where I've
been working for members
is on the Governance and
Communication Committee,
helping to draft new Bylaws
proposals to update the
membership structure. Our
membership structure has
not kept up with changing
times and no longer reflects
the founders' idea of an
association where all
translation and interpreting
professionals have a voice.
I believe changing the
structure is necessary to
give all translation and
interpreting professionals
equal standing in
the Association.
And now a little about
me. An ATA-certified
translator (Dutch>English,
German>English), I became
a German>English grader
in 2006, then served the
Certification Committee
as secretary and chair (six
years), and still work on
the committee and serve
as a grader. I served two
terms on the Board and
chaired the Compensation
Survey Committee,
addressing previous surveys'
shortcomings. I hope the
new survey will fit the
Association's needs for
many years. I served on the
Education and Pedagogy
Committee and as chair of
The ATA Chronicle Editorial
Board, and currently
serve on ASTM standards
committees and the Finance
and Audit Committee,
dealing financially with
the pandemic and carefully
stewarding member
assets. I'm president of
the American Foundation
for Translation and
Interpretation (AFTI), ATA's
foundation for charitable
activities, education, and
research. Since 2018, I've
led AFTI to co-sponsor
a summer school for
translation graduate
students and award 10
student scholarships for
conference attendance.
I promise to work for all
ATA members across all
languages. I ask for your
vote, and, as I've done since
first volunteering with ATA
in 2006, I promise to serve
energetically and faithfully
in the future.
Secretary
Two-Year Term
Alaina Brandt
abrandt@miis.edu
I've been an
ATA member
for eight
years. When
I first joined, the need
for professionalization of
translation and localization
project management was a
gap I felt passionate about
filling. I continue to feel
passion for professionalizing
the fields of translation/
localization, and over the
years I've directed my
passion toward stakeholder
education. These efforts
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The ATA Chronicle - September/October 2021

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