It’s that time of year again when we vote for our new leadership. Please read over the candidate statements for the Board positions mentioned below and make your voice heard by mailing in your ballot. The New York Circle thrives because of the efforts of you, our members, and our dedicated Board of directors.
CANDIDATE FOR PRESIDENT:
MICHELLE BERRIOS
My name is Michelle Berrios and I’m pleased to announce my candidacy for President on the New York Circle of Translators Board of Directors. I’ve been a member of the NYCT and the Dictionary Society of North America for the past two years, as well as being an active member of the ATA. My working languages are Spanish to English and English to Spanish with in-depth knowledge of the US Hispanic market.
My abilities, experience, and background in translation, lexicography, and translation project management make me a good candidate for the role. I have a BA in Translation from the University of Puerto Rico, a Postgraduate Certificate in Translation from City, University of London, and an MA in Lexicography from the University of León and the Royal Spanish Academy, in Spain. I’ve been a freelance translator for over fifteen years. In addition, I worked from 2016 to 2021 as a lexicographer for Curiosity Media, where I helped expand the dictionary and grammar content for SpanishDict.com and ingles.com.
NYC has been my home at various stages of my life: right after college, after a seven-year stint in Argentina, and most recently, when I moved back in 2020. While living in Argentina, I regularly participated in activities and attended continuing education courses at the Sworn Translators’ Association of the City of Buenos Aires (CTPCBA) and the Institute of Localisation Professionals. This allowed me to make connections with others in my field and enhance my business profile. Being part of these associations also enabled me to become part of a group of very committed translators who were interested in actively widening their professional horizons. I lived in Puerto Rico from 2016 to 2020 and, during that time, became involved in another association, the Puerto Rican Academy of the Spanish Language. All were enriching experiences that provided me with professional development tools and led me to engage with likeminded professionals.
If I am elected President, I will serve the needs of the Association to the best of my abilities. I hope to inspire and be inspired by its members, collaborate with the Association and support the group in providing opportunities for continuing education, job prospects, mentoring programs, networking, access to resources, new perspectives, and professional development.
On a personal level, the NYCT is an opportunity for me to give back to the language community by sharing the academic and professional knowledge I have accumulated throughout the years and help make way for the next generation of translators and interpreters.
Michelle Berrios
CANDIDATES FOR VICE PRESIDENT:
Elizabeth (Liz) Herron-Sweet
I am pleased to be running for the position of vice president of the New York Circle of Translators.
I joined ATA in 2015 and became certified in the Portuguese > English language pair in 2017. I was a founding member of the ATA’s Law Division in 2017 and went on to serve as Assistant Administrator of the Division from 2018-2021 and as Administrator since 2021. I look forwarding to implementing my experience on the Law Division as vice president of the NYCT.
I have a B.A. in International Studies with a concentration in Portuguese from Middlebury College and worked for six years as a paralegal at a large international law firm, first in New York City and then at the firm’s new office in São Paulo. I have now been a translator for nine years, specializing in legal, business and academic work. I hold a Certificate in English to Portuguese Translation from the New York University School of Continuing and Professional Studies and a Certificate in Basic Training in Conference Interpreting from Versão Brasileira in Curitiba, Brazil.
After having lived in Brazil for 10 years, I moved with my family to New York City in 2021 and am now rebuilding my freelance business from the ground up. I was very pleased to join the NYCT in early 2022 and have done great networking through its monthly webinars and semi-annual in-person events. If I am elected, I look forward to assisting the NYCT, the president and the board with implementing all the Circle’s programming and ensuring it remains a valuable resource and venue for its members and for the translation and interpretation community in the New York area.
TIZIANA RUSKAUFF
My name is Tiziana Ruskauff. I am a native Italian, I hold a Foreign Languages and Literatures degree from the University of Sassari, Italy. I live in New Jersey and I’ve been working as a freelance English into Italian translator since 1995.
Back then, the Internet was quite new. Some of you probably remember the very loud dial-up modems and the fact that we could not stay always connected as we do now, since it was quite expensive! Actually, when I first started working in-house for a translation agency in Upstate New York, we did not have Internet and no CAT tools either. I had several specialized dictionaries and I remember keeping the most pertinent one on my knees while working, for faster consultation.
I am honored to be asked to run for vice president of the NYCT. While I joined the Circle recently, I’ve been a member of the ATA, the Italian Language Division and the Audiovisual Division for several years. Things have changed drastically compared to the ‘90s, but the need to promote our profession is still actual, maybe even more than in the past since now many clients and LSPs tend to rely on machine translation.
During my career, one of the opportunities I enjoyed the most is the Language Lead role I recently covered for different translation agencies. In one case in particular, I lead a group of over 25 translators. I mentored and supported them, I also advocated for them, while developing training materials and glossaries. I would like to put this experience to good use as an active member of the NYCT board. I intend to help the President and the Board in any way I can and to support and give back to the Circle, as I feel it’s important for linguists to have a welcoming place where they can grow professionally, network and keep in touch with peers.
