The Nominating Committee of the German Language Division is pleased to announce that the following Division members have been nominated as candidates in the upcoming election of officers:
Administrator: Eva Stabenow
Assistant Administrator: Michael Engley
Please take a few minutes to read the following statements from the candidates.
Candidate Statements
Candidate for Administrator
Ms. Eva Stabenow
For the past four years, I have had the privilege of serving the GLD as Assistant Administrator alongside outgoing Administrator Ruth Gentes Krawczyk. This has given me the opportunity to learn the ropes of division administration and – as these roles always do – provided room for personal growth. I now feel it is time to put this experience to good use as GLD Administrator. Since its inception in 1997, our division has unfailingly brought excellent presenters to the Annual Conference, been highly active, exceptionally well organized, and – most importantly – welcoming to new members and beginning translators. This was to a large extent due to the excellent work done by prior administrators and gives us a wonderful basis to work from.
If elected, my main goals for the two years ahead will be:
- Exploring how to make the most of the new Leadership Council structure.
- Reaching out to translators and translator organizations in German-speaking countries with a view to establishing better relations and a livelier exchange on a formal and/or informal level.
- Actively listening for input from members about possible events, topics of interest and new developments.
- Building on what has been accomplished this past term to enhance existing and potentially add new channels of communication.
A bit of background about me for those of you I have yet to meet: Born and raised in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, with a five-year stint in the beautiful state of Maryland as a child, I went on to study conference interpreting at the University of Mainz/Germersheim with the overarching goal of working on my own time. After graduating in 1995, I was lucky to be able to dive straight into a life of freelance translating and interpreting. In 2003, I relocated to Nashville, Tennessee, and received my ATA certification (English to German) the following year. I have since felt compelled to give back to the translation community by becoming increasingly active within the ATA, serving as GLD Assistant Administrator from 2008 to 2012 as well as working on the grading team. Just this year, I have incorporated my business and hope to put all this experience to good use in representing all GLD members equally and fairly.
Candidate for Assistant Administrator
Mr. Michael Engley
michael@mengley.com
I was born at a US Army hospital in Berlin, Germany. This apparently chance occurrence perhaps sealed my fate as an adult. I returned to Germany 24 years later, taking advantage of an opportunity provided under a study abroad program at the University of Michigan. Having decided to remain in Germany long before the academic year was up, I took leave of the other students in the program and continued my studies officially enrolled at the Universität Freiburg im Breisgau. But I learned far more than economic theory during my 10 years in that Black Forest university town. My studies drifted seeming aimlessly across the humanities in the early years, but even in my final semesters of Economics I never lost sight of the fact that my core education was always about German history, society, politics and culture – an invaluable experience for a young and impressionable mind.
My first job as a translator was an opportunity given to me by a fellow student who had graduated and no longer had time to translate for a local research institute. Eventually, I was also translating for first one and then another of my professors. But I did not begin translating in earnest until I returned to the United States to study Accounting at the University of Louisville – although at the time I only regarded translation as a way to support myself financially during my studies. Despite this short-term perspective, my list of clients grew along with my level of job satisfaction after I joined the ATA and became increasingly active on the German Language Division’s e-mail list. My level of commitment to the profession grew as well and I became a regular attendee at the Annual ATA Conference.
I have profited so much from this involvement that I am happy to give back to the community of translators. Accordingly, I currently serve as the Dictionary Review Coordinator for the division newsletter interaktiv as well as on the GLD Leadership Council. If elected as Assistant Administrator, I pledge to do everything I can to facilitate the smooth running of the German Language Division.
Additional Candidates
Additional candidates may be added to the ballot. Additional candidates must be voting members of the Association.
Deadline for objections to the slate and/or receipt of nominations to add candidates to the slate is August 2 (45 days after publication of slate); each nomination must include a written acceptance letter and candidate statement from the candidate to be added, and sent (mail or fax) to:
Attn: Jamie Padula
225 Reinekers Lane, Suite 590
Alexandria, Virginia
22314
Fax: +1-703-683-6122
For questions, please contact Jamie Padula, ATA Chapter and Division Relations Manager, by email to jamie@atanet.org
Election Procedure
If no further candidates are received, then this is an uncontested election and officers will be declared by acclamation at the German Language Division’s annual meeting during ATA’s 53rd Annual Conference (October 24-27, 2012 in San Diego, California).
ATA Contact Information
American Translators Association
225 Reinekers Lane, Suite 590
Alexandria, Virginia 22314
USA
Phone: +1-703-683-6100
Email: ata-hq@atanet.org
Online: https://www.atanet.org