Election time is here. Below are the candidate statements for President and Vice-President
Candidate for President
Milena Savova 
My name is Milena Savova and I am running for President. I have been a member of the Circle since 1996 and I am an Active Member of the ATA. My working languages are Bulgarian and English.
My first job after graduating from the English Department of University of Sofia, Bulgaria, was a translator and interpreter at the Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I left after six months to go to graduate school. But I have never quit translation and interpreting. In fact, I incorporated translation into my Ph.D. thesis. I also taught theory and practice of translation at Sofia University.
When I moved to New York in the early 1990s I thought that I was done with that part of my life until I joined the Circle. I found like-minded colleagues whose stories matched those of my free-lance colleagues in Bulgaria. I also started translating once again. I was awe-struck by the knowledge and professionalism of the Circle members.
Later in 1996, I was hired as Director of the Department of Foreign Languages, Translation and Interpreting at what was then the School of Continuing Education (School of Professional Studies now) of NYU and held that position until 2015.
During my tenure at NYU, we expanded our translation and interpreter certificate programs and launched a Master of Science in Translation. I made sure that the Department developed a close relationship with the Circle and we supported each other. The Circle was always my first go-to resource for hiring instructors. My team and I always encouraged our students to join it as early as possible in order to get their feet wet in the profession.
The NY Circle of Translators is a special organization reflecting the nature of our city and the Tri-State area. It may very well have the largest representation of language pairs of all ATA chapters. We also have veteran members with many years of experience alongside new ones and students.
If I were to be entrusted with the leadership post, I would make sure that every voice is heard and all members feel comfortable in our organization. We need to follow new developments in the language professions and assist our members in mastering them. I would also like us to recognize the differences among those translators/interpreters working with the commonly used languages, such as Spanish and French, and those working with languages of lesser distribution, such as Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, etc. We must not forget translation companies.
Should I be elected I am sure the board members would also have ideas about our future work and I would listen to them too because I believe in team work.
Candidates for Vic-President
Kate Deimling 
I’ve been a freelance French-to-English translator for over 11 years, after obtaining a Ph.D. in French from Columbia University and working in academia. ATA-certified since 2009, I specialize in advertising and marketing, art and culture, international development, and fiction and non-fiction. Within the advertising and marketing field, I specialize in transcreation and copywriting, with a focus on luxury brands. I developed a specialty in art and museums while working as the in-house translator for ARTINFO.com and as the New York correspondent for the French art newspaper Le Journal des Arts. I have spoken on the craft of translation and the translation industry at Duke University, the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, and Columbia University, as well as this year’s annual ATA conference. I’ve translated five books on topics ranging from the French wine industry to Renaissance portraiture. From 2014-2015 I was program director of the New York Circle of Translators. In 2015, I founded the NYCT’s mentoring program, which I still manage today.
The NYCT has been very valuable to me throughout my career as a translator and I would like to serve on the board once again, this time as vice-president, and contribute to sustaining the organization’s growth and momentum. I hope to support the other board members in any way I can as we maintain the Circle’s program of regular activities and plan for the future. 2019 marks the 40th anniversary of the New York Circle of Translators, and I would like to help the NYCT celebrate this milestone. This is a great opportunity to reflect on our organization’s achievements and to raise our profile.
Annette Vazquez 
Hello, my name is Annette Vazquez and I am translator/interpreter. I obtained my Bachelor’s degree from Montclair State University in Spanish with a concentration in Translation.
I am very honored to be asked to run for vice president of the New York Circle of Translators. Through the years I have watched the organization change in leadership to keep up with the times while also fostering camaraderie, professional development and opportunities for translators and interpreters alike. Nonetheless, the work does not stop there–we need to create awareness of the value of our profession in order to thrive and succeed in these uncertain times.
If elected I hope to collaborate alongside with the president and the board to continue the livelihood of the organization by supporting, developing and maintaining a cohesive sense of community with the members.
