Distinguished Speakers
Learn from the experts! These select speakers were invited to contribute a high level of advanced learning, experience, and excellence.
Chinese Language Division
Cecilia Elizalde Bulanti is the director of the documentation division in the Department for General Assembly and Conference Management at the United Nations in New York. A translator by training, she joined the Spanish Translation Service in 2003 and now leads all translation services in New York (500 posts). She led the development of eLUNa, the computer-assisted translation tool created by the UN, and gDoc2, a workflow and capacity management system for parliamentary documentation. These tools are used by all translation teams within the department and many other international organizations, including UNESCO, IMO, WMO, ICAO, and WHO.
Dutch Language Division
Frans Kooymans grew up in the Netherlands but emigrated at age 13 to the U.S., where he lived for 16 years before returning to his native country. He has worked as a translator (Dutch to/from English) for 25 years, specializing in financial and legal texts, following a 26-year career in accounting and financial controllership positions. He has been an active member of the Society of English-Language Professionals in the Netherlands. He switched to the literary field, with the translation of All God’s Dangers (by Theodore Rosengarten) into Dutch as the pinnacle of a long career.
German Language Division
Inga Schiffler is a leading advocate of accessible communication in Germany. She is a freelance translator, interpreter, and trainer for “Leichte Sprache” and “Einfache Sprache.” She studied interpreting into and out of Spanish Sign Language in Granada and has a BA and MA in translation and interpreting from the Universities of Salamanca and Mainz (Germersheim). In addition to her writing, translation, interpreting, and training courses in “Leichte Sprache,” she organizes online meet-ups for people with and without disabilities (“Vorlese-Stunde”) and for colleagues interested in and already working with “Leichte Sprache” (“Stammtisch Leichte Sprache”).
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Joining an ATA Division presents an invaluable opportunity to fulfill these practical needs for your interpreting business.
Interpreters Division
Alberto Ferreras is an American Latino award-winning author and filmmaker who has devoted his career to multidisciplinary projects that explore and explain the diversity and complexity of the Hispanic experience in the U.S. He is the creator of Somos, the first commissioned video installation for the National Museum of the American Latino. As a consultant, he has been the creative executive in residence for Así Studios, Televisa Univision’s branded content unit, since its creation in January 2022. He is the creator, director, and producer of Habla, one of the longest running documentary series in HBO’s history. His novel, B as in Beauty, is being adapted for TV by Telemundo Studios.
Spanish Language Division
Cecilia Lipovsek is a London-based diplomatic interpreter and owner of MULTILATERAL, where she provides intercultural communication support to British and Latin American governments, businesses, and professionals. Born in Buenos Aires, she has lived and worked on both sides of the Atlantic and, over the past decade, has interpreted for heads of state, ministers, governors, chief executive officers, activists, writers, royalty, Nobel Prize winners, museum curators, and countless experts. She has also published JUMP!, a business book created for interpreters, WELCOME!, a practical guide to diplomatic interpreting in the 21st century, and SMILE!, a five-dimensional approach to British-Latin American interactions.
Translation Company Division
Arle Lommel is a senior analyst with independent market research firm CSA Research. He is a recognized expert in quality processes and interoperability standards. His research focuses on technology, quality assessment, and interoperability. He also examines large-scale translation industry trends, how humans and machines interact, and how AI is affecting language work. Born in Alaska, he has a PhD from Indiana University.
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