Dear NYCT members,
It is that time of year again when we vote for our new leadership. We have an excellent slate of candidates for the Board. Please read over the candidate statements and make your voice heard by mailing in your ballots.
The New York Circle thrives because of the efforts of you, our members, and our dedicated Board of Directors.
Candidates for Secretary
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Alexia Klein
My name is Alexia Klein and I am a Brazilian translator living in New York. Although I have been a Translator for about six years, my background is in the sciences and I previously had a career as a Pharmacist.
After falling in love with translating I decided to change careers and attended the NYU SPCS Translation Program. My main specialization is the life sciences, but I also work in subtitling and literary translation while maintaining a few side projects of my own. I am a member of the ATA and have been a member of the New York Circle of Translators for two years.
I am honored to have been offered the opportunity to launch my candidacy to serve the board of the NYCT as Secretary. The NYCT is an organization that strives to foster a sense of community and belonging to members in a profession that can be unstable and challenging, while offering excellent opportunities for professional growth, mentoring and networking. I am enthusiastic to be running and eager for the opportunity to contribute more actively in this great endeavor.
As a professional, one of my areas of concern is the relationship between Translators/Interpreters and LSPs. As Secretary, I plan to bring this issue to the board, helping to create a channel for dialogue between language professionals and agencies. I look forward to being involved in the important conversation of how to improve our working conditions and to further develop and maintain a cohesive, supportive, and nurturing community; thus, helping to empower translators and interpreters in the New York area. I plan to give back to the community as much as I plan to learn from it.
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Miriam Kaplan
While I’m a rather new comer to the NYCT I have been a lover of languages all my life. I have spent a lifelong working in international trade and development. I have lived and worked on three continents and spent extended periods of times working in many countries- Guatemala, Poland, Israel & of course the USA. I ran a couple of business that were involved in international product development on the one hand, and supplying major clients in the USA and Europe like Ralph Lauren, Downton Abbey, Saks, Bloomingdales, many museums etc. Such work demands in addition to the knowledge of foreign languages, the ability and flexibility to work and understand other cultures, different regulatory environments, other modes of doing things. I have acquired a reputation of a go getter who is also a perfectionist. Naturally, translation and interpretation played a part in my career, which have recently even grown. I have joined the NYCT and found the organization to be a treasure trove of information and resources for translator and interpreter, as well as a forum of kindred spirits.
I have been a volunteer in another organization and found the experience very rewarding. I’m looking to join the board of the NYCT as a secretary to serve and give back, and hopefully to put in some of my two cents of ideas of options and direction that maybe the organization can pursue.
Candidate for Treasurer
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Christine Quiñones
My name is Christine Quiñones, and it’s my honor to be nominated for the position of Treasurer of the NYCT. I am a proud native of Brooklyn, New York, and I have been working professionally as a freelance Spanish-English translator for about four years, and an active member of the Circle since 2015. Before coming to translation, I was an office manager, accountant, and tax preparer for over twenty years, and I still do some accounting and tax work today alongside my translation work. With my ongoing practical experience overseeing financial matters, I believe I can serve in the position of Treasurer to maintain the Circle on a solid financial footing and improve our ability to serve the community of translators and interpreters in New York.
The Circle, in the two and a half years I’ve been a member, has been instrumental in keeping me connected to my fellow professionals and to furthering the recognition of translation and interpretation as a crucial component of this great city’s social and economic vitality. We’ve had a great team in place bringing the Circle out into the wider world as the voice of the local translation and interpretation community, and I want to follow in their footsteps to keep up the pace.
If I am elected, I will work with the rest of the Circle board to ensure that we make the most of the money we have, to reach out in person and through online outlets to our peers in the local translation and interpretation community who may not be aware they have a home with the Circle, and also to connect with the wider metropolitan area and bring awareness of our profession to more communities. The Circle is a great organization with a great deal of potential for growth and evolution, and I am willing, able, and eager to play a part in both. Thank you.
Candidate for Program Director
Aaron Hebenstreit
I am running for the position of Program Director of the New York Circle of Translators. Monthly meetings and special events organized by the Circle are very informative and useful, and I would be happy to do my best to bring more great programming to NYCT members. I would like to work with the other members of the Board to plan interesting events for our organization. As a practicing translator, interpreter, and educator, I hope to incorporate the various elements of the profession into the events we hold in order to provide opportunities for members to build skills and relationships, interact with colleagues and potential employers, and raise the profile of our profession.
Following undergraduate studies in engineering and graduate school in translation and interpretation, I have been working with Chinese, French, and German as a practitioner in the T&I field for about four years. I currently work as a contracted translator for the United Nations and some of its specialized agencies and as a freelance interpreter in the private sector and the New York state court system. I also teach Chinese to English translation at the NYU School of Professional Studies.
I look forward to the opportunity to serve the NYCT as Program Director for the 2018-2019 term.
To vote for your candidates please go to NYCT Election 2017 ballot or click on the link below.
http://gothamtranslator.org/new-york-circle-of-translators-election-2017/
