I am an ATA-Certified Translator from Spanish to English with an extensive technical background, along with knowledge of legal and medical fields. Prior to working as a translator, I spent seventeen years working in information technology (IT) on projects in Spain, England, and the United States. These projects involved analyzing business requirements and designing, developing, and implementing technology solutions to meet those needs. This background, along with an undergraduate degree in Chemical Engineering, established a solid foundation for my technical translation work.
Because of the project-based nature of my IT work, I worked with companies in a wide range of industries, including transportation, defense, oil and gas, government, utilities (electric, water, and wastewater), and manufacturing. Within those industries, projects dealt with a variety of business functions, including accounting, shipping, receiving, supply chain management, manufacturing resource planning, reservations and ticketing, maintenance tracking, etc. Because of this work, I have a broad understanding of various industries and general business practices.
Having led many projects in my IT career, I understand the importance of meeting deadlines and am always looking ahead to foresee and resolve possible issues before they have an adverse effect on final delivery. I believe communication is the key to ensuring that work stays on track and that a final product meets a client’s needs.
My native language is English (American), and I translate exclusively from Spanish into English. My writing skills in English are strong, honed throughout a career of writing requirements analysis documents, design documents, and user manuals. By translating only into my native language, I am able to ensure my customers a final product that not only is grammatically correct and faithful to the original meaning, but that also sounds natural and reflects the register and nuances of the source text.
I developed my fluency in Spanish while working on a Geographic Information System (GIS) project for an electric utility in Madrid over twenty years ago. I have continued expanding and fine-tuning that language base over the years, both through dedicated coursework and through more than ten years of work, both volunteer and paid, dealing directly with Spanish-speaking communities in the United States. That work has included services such as tax preparation in Spanish, working as a bilingual domestic violence advocate, and teaching classes to Spanish-speaking students. Those classes included English classes, computer classes, citizenship classes, and Mexican basic education classes (Mexican primary and secondary education for adults, sponsored by the Mexican government). I also have worked since 2004 as a Spanish interpreter legal, medical, and social services settings.
I am a federally certified (U.S.) and Washington State certified Spanish Court Interpreter, and I am also certified by Washington State’s Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) as a Medical and Social Services Spanish Interpreter. My work as a legal interpreter, along with my prior work and training as a domestic violence advocate, has given me a solid understanding of legal procedures related to criminal law, family law, dependency, and domestic violence. Additionally, extensive experience interpreting for patients at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance has given me familiarity with cancer treatment procedures and terminology, including those related to bone marrow transplants. |