The ATA Chronicle - September/October 2022 - 15

out new member orientation
sessions, a guide to help new
translators get started in our
industry, and an upcoming
member survey to ensure we
know more about who our
members are and how we can
serve them better.
Apart from ATA, I've
chaired the Translatio
Standing Committee of the
International Federation of
Translators (FIT) since 2018.
If re-elected, I'm eager
to continue the meaningful
work I'm already doing.
I'm a professional
association evangelist,
and I'm passionate about
promoting the benefits of
ATA more broadly so we
can start growing ATA's
membership again and thus
our dues income, one of our
main revenue streams. It's
important for us to know
who we're serving and what
our members need, which is
why I'm excited about the
upcoming member survey,
which I encourage everyone
to take. I'm very proud of
the Advocacy Committee's
work and excited to share
everything we've been
working on, including a
free resource library to help
every linguist advocate
for themselves and our
profession more effectively.
We are fortunate to have an
Association that can put its
full weight behind issues that
matter to us. When we work
together, we are stronger.
Finally, I believe very
strongly in taking additional
steps to embody and fulfill
ATA's 2017 Resolution
Supporting Diversity. I would
continue to advocate for
the Board to allocate more
resources to initiatives that
support our underrepresented
www.ata-chronicle.online
members and the
communities they serve.
I'm grateful to be
considered for this position
and hope to be able to serve
you all as director.
Hana Kawashima Ransom, CT
hana@rannohana.net
I'm very honored to have
been nominated for an ATA
director position.
I'm an ATA-certified
English>Japanese translator,
published author, English
as a second language (ESL)/
Japanese language instructor,
founder/teacher of an
online translation course,
interpreter, and YouTuber.
I've been involved in many
activities as a linguist for the
past seven years promoting
the translation industry. I've
done so using social media,
including Facebook, Twitter,
Instagram, LinkedIn, and
blogging. We need to let the
public know how important
translators are, especially
because many people in the
world have the false idea
that artificial intelligence has
advanced to the level where
translators and translations
are no longer necessary.
After receiving an MEd in
curriculum and instruction
from the University of Texas
at Austin and working as an
ESL/Japanese teacher for
several years, both in the
U.S. and Japan, I became
a translator. I've lived in
various parts of the U.S.
(e.g., Texas, California, and
Alaska) and around the
world, including the U.K.
and several cities in Japan.
I've also been an in-house
translator for several years
in the U.K. and Texas. Being
ATA-certified for 25 years
has served as an extremely
important credential during
my career, regardless of
how the economy has
done. I've very much
appreciated the freedom
that being a freelancer has
afforded me, personally and
professionally.
I used to think that being
anonymous and invisible
as a translator was good
enough, but the recent
advancement in artificial
intelligence has minimized
our visibility in the world.
This made me decide that it's
no longer appropriate to be a
bystander and see the world
so unaware of the translation
industry, so I've become an
enthusiastic advocate for
linguistic professionals.
In order to carry out
this advocacy, I've been
working as an educator,
published two ESL books
demonstrating the
importance of learning
foreign languages and their
associated cultures, taught
translation online, and,
with help from colleagues
in ATA's Japanese Language
Division, given seminars
for prospective translators.
Through these activities I've
helped recruit new members
to ATA and to the Japanese
Language Division. I also
have a YouTube channel
where I share information
on how to become a
successful translator. (As of
August 2022, the channel
American Translators Association 15
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The ATA Chronicle - September/October 2022

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