ATISDA Elections 2021: Meet the Candidates
Please check your inboxes for a separate communication with additional information on how to cast your vote electronically.
The candidates have written short bios and prepared candidate statements for your consideration. Read on to learn about your candidates for the ATISDA election this month.
Nominee for President: Marco Díaz
Marco Díaz is an ATA-Certified English-to-Spanish translator specializing in legal & business, health care, and technical translations. He is originally from Guatemala City and has lived in México and the United States for a good part of his life. He obtained a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering with a minor in Electrical Engineering from Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey in Monterrey, Nuevo León, México, and the Specialized Certificate in Translation from the University of California San Diego Extension Program. Marco has pursued several specialized courses in legal translation both from Cálamo & Cran in Madrid, Spain and Academia Traducción Jurídica in Valladolid, Spain. When Marco is not translating or managing the business, he enjoys reading books, playing guitar, and hiking.
I am honored and pleased to be nominated to serve as President of ATISDA.
If elected, I will strive toward the following goals:
Support and collaborate closely with Board members to help ATISDA stay on track with its mission, by continuing being a resource for translators and interpreters in southern California, and helping its members achieve their professional goals, whether it is through networking, continuing education, or developing their leadership skills as volunteers in professional associations.
Represent the Association at regional, national, and international events where possible.
Work with transparency, objectivity, and equity.
Among my volunteer work and involvement in professional associations are the following:
I served as member of ATISDA’s Nominating Committee in the 2016-2017 transition and have been Vice-President of the association since I was elected in 2019. I organized the Pensadores meetings (professional development for translators and interpreters working in English<>Spanish) from 2017 to 2019 and have been managing ATISDA’s website since 2020.
In 2020, I took an active role advocating for our profession by contacting and visiting legislators representing local districts within the San Diego area to educate them about the consequences of not providing an exemption for translators and interpreters in California’s AB5.
I have closely collaborated with the ATISDA leadership in planning and organizing events for the Association.
I have served as webmaster of the Spanish Language Division of the American Translators Association (ATA) since 2017 and was the Acting Assistant Administrator of said division from 2019 to 2020.
I am also an active member of the American Translators Association (ATA), the National Association of Judiciary Interpreters and Translators (NAJIT), and San Diego La Raza Lawyers Association (SDLRLA).
I believe in communication, teamwork, and maintaining ethical standards. I look forward to working with the ATISDA leadership and it would be a great honor and privilege to represent and serve all ATISDA members. Thank you for your support and consideration.
Nominee for Vice-President: Rafa Lombardino
RAFA LOMBARDINO is a Brazilian translator and journalist who has been living in California since 2002. She is the author of “Tools and Technology in Translation ― The Profile of Beginning Language Professionals in the Digital Age,” published in 2004 and based on her class by the same name. She started working as a translator in 1997, is certified by the American Translators Association (English > Portuguese & Portuguese > English), and has a Professional Certificate in Translation (Spanish > English) from the University of California San Diego Extension, where she started teaching in 2010. Her additional combinations are Spanish > Portuguese, Italian > Portuguese, and Italian > English. She is the President and CEO of Word Awareness, a network of professional translators established in 2004 and incorporated in 2009. Rafa also hosts the Translation Confessional Podcast and the Tools and Technology in Translation YouTube channel. She has also acted as the Blog Editor of ATA’s Portuguese Language Division (PLD) and served as the Division Administrator in 2017-2019. She has an Associate’s Degree in Computer Sciences, with emphasis on Data Processing, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Communications, major in Journalism. She specializes in Technology, Corporate Communications, Human Resources, Education, EH&S (Environment, Health, and Safety), Health and Well-Being, Tourism, Audiovisual, and Literature.
It is with great honor that I accept the nomination for Vice President of ATISDA, and I would like to thank the Nominating Committee for their confidence in me. I am one of the founding members of ATISDA, and fondly remember those days when a group of us first got together in 2008 with an idea in our minds and a lot of inspiration in our hearts to organize at the local level. I would like to build on the great work of our former President, Yolanda Secos, and I hope to assist our former Vice President, Marco Díaz, with his plans for the association once he becomes our next President. It will be my mission to provide continuous improvement to our translators and interpreters in southern California, so that we can help our members achieve their professional goals through learning opportunities, networking sessions, or certification and accreditation through other organizations. Thank you once again for your consideration. I am looking forward to helping ATISDA thrive in the next few years.
Nominee for Treasurer: Artemisa Valle
Artemisa Valle completed the SDSU Translation and Interpretation Professional Certificate (Spanish/English) from the University of California, San Diego, Extension, in the fall of 2010. Previously, she had also completed, at UCSD Extension, the ABA Approved Professional Certificate in Paralegal Studies (2006). She has pursued her career through her work as Coordinator of the Volunteer Interpreters and Translators Program at Casa Cornelia Law Center since the summer of 2010. At this San Diego firm, she recruits, trains, and mentors community volunteers (all levels of experience and skill in the T/I profession) who assist with the attorney/client communication. Prior experience includes extensive work as an Information Systems Management professional in the insurance and banking industries. Artemisa currently lives with her husband in the 4S Ranch community of San Diego. She is a translator with a current focus on legal documents of all types. Independent translation experience includes, among others, Airline luggage handlers’ procedures manual, Commercial license drivers’ manual, Income tax declarations, and marketing materials. Her personal interests include future opportunities working on literary translations and presenting at an ATA Conference.
Your vote for Artemisa for Treasurer will bring back to the executive committee one of the original founders of ATISDA. She was instrumental in getting ATISDA off the ground in 2008 and establishing the base for membership and programming. Her knowledge of ATISDA’s history provides the backbone for full integration of ATISDA within the federal and state non-profits in good standing. Her leadership at ATISDA has always been within the Treasurer position but has never limited her from assisting wherever she is needed. Artemisa’s decision to return as Treasurer follows the need to step away from the administration of ATISDA for three years due to family health reasons. Her return to active participation within the ATISDA board brings back, not just experience, but renewed energies to continue her commitment to ATISDA’s goals and objectives. She looks forward to working with the leadership of ATISDA to identify the membership needs and to implement the programming to fulfill those needs. She looks forward to soon begin planning with the executive committee the 2021 program of events.
Nominee for Secretary: Felipe Ortiz
He became interested in the Translation/Interpretation (Spanish/English) while working in the Hospitality Industry and decided to shift careers by enrolling in the UCSD Extension Certificate Program. While taking classes, he became interested in becoming a member of ATISDA and joined the association in 2015. He volunteered to become a member of the By-Laws Revision Committee and was elected member of the Executive Council /Treasurer in 2017, and Secretary in 2019. He was awarded the Professional Certificate in Translation and Interpretation (Spanish/English) in 2019. He is currently working in writing a book as suggested by one of his professors at UCSD Extension. He is a voting member of ATA. He believes in participating in the activities of the Translation/Interpretation Industry and feels that by being of service to its members, you get as much, and more, of what you contribute to the advancement of ATISDA.
