By Milena Calderari-Waldron How many times has a colleague approached you with, “The other day [fill in the blank] happened to me. What do you think I should have done?” When confronted with an ethical problem—as opposed to an ethical dilemma which is where one must choose between two conflicting … [Read More...]
Latest news
2022-08-10. The Interpreters Division is hosting a new Interpreter Connections session today (5 PM PST – 8 PM EST). Join us to discuss long term career planning for interpreters. Learn more: http://www.ata-divisions.org/ID/ata-interpreter-connections/
2022-07-28. ATA’s Board of Directors will meet August 6-7 in Chicago, Illinois. All members are invited. The Board values your feedback. If you have comments for the Board, please send them to any Board Director. You’ll find email addresses here: atanet.org/about-us/board/
2022-05-13. The Interpreters Division is hosting a new Interpreter Connections session on May 25th (5 PM PST – 8 PM EST). Join us to discuss tried and true tips for remote interpreting. Learn more: http://www.ata-divisions.org/ID/ata-interpreter-connections/
2022-04-01. The ATA 63rd Annual Conference Website Now Online. Plan now to join your colleagues for ATA’s 63rd Annual Conference in Los Angeles (October 12-15). Begin at this year’s conference website where you’ll find an overview of all the conference has to offer—from networking to education to social events. Be sure to listen to what last year’s attendees had to say about their experience. Finally, check out the fabulous city guide with things to do and places to go. There’s even an app to show you how to “Discover LA.”
2022-03-08. ID hosts a new Interpreter Connections event today for another round of informal discussion about our profession. Learn more
2022-03-01. Today is the last day to submit your proposal for ATA’s 63rd annual conference. Follow #ata63 for conference updates.
Visit our Calendar of Events for other upcoming interpreting-related events.
How to join the Interpreters Division
◾ Log into your ATA profile at atanet.org. Scroll down to the section titled “ATA Divisions”. The top of the section lists any divisions you belong to.
◾ If the Interpreters Division is not included, go to the bottom of the section and click on “Modify Your Divisions”. Once you select the Interpreters Division, you will be a member.
◾ To join the email list, click on “More Information” next to the division name. The email link is under the Administration team’s names. Email us a request to join the Division listserv (please include your ATA member number) and we will happily send you an invitation.
Recent blog posts
![[New Year 2022 balloons banner]](https://i2.wp.com/www.ata-divisions.org/ID/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/new-year-g2dbfeb29d_1280.png?resize=150%2C150)
Lessons for the new year
Here we are. 2021 has staggered to a close and a new year has begun. COVID is still in the daily news, our professional world is still a constant mix of virtual and in-person, and we never did get our “old normal” back. In fact, it seems to me that we’re learning to hold this “new normal” lightly, … [Read More...]
![[image of sound wave]](https://i2.wp.com/www.ata-divisions.org/ID/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/soundwave-background-g7fb0526fb_1280.jpg?resize=150%2C150)
Portable equipment for socially-distanced simultaneous interpretation in court
By Flavia Lima & Monica Guelman After months of near-total lockdown in many US states, courts are reopening with a massive backlog of cases to work through as a consequence of the pandemic and interpreters are in high demand. We need to find solutions to assist court attendees who are Limited … [Read More...]

Robert Joe Lee: Distinguished Speaker
-By Carol Shaw There are people in this world who see a disconnect in a system and ask what can be done. Then there are those who see the disconnect and ask what they can do. Meet Robert Joe Lee, doer. Not that he started out to fix the system nationwide. He started down that road as a seminary … [Read More...]

Language services, hurricanes and pandemics: Overcoming crises to ensure access to Education
By Andrew Dafoe CHI™ If I had to pick a defining word for the year 2020, at the top of my list would be crisis. It really became what felt like a never ceasing stream of natural disasters, global pandemics, the resulting economic downturns, political divisiveness, and racial injustices. … [Read More...]
![[Photojournalist Thorne Anderson, on assignment in Tarin Kowt, Uruzgan Province, Afghanistan, March 2009. Courtesy of Thorne Anderson.]](https://i2.wp.com/www.ata-divisions.org/ID/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Thorne_Anderson.jpg?resize=150%2C150)
Media interpreters play a critical role in news reporting
To protect the integrity of information, interpreters need to focus on accuracy, impartiality, and completeness By Margarita Martín-Hidalgo Birnbaum When Steve Mines was a journalist in China, he relied on interpreters to help him in his reporting. Years later, those experiences served him … [Read More...]
![[A pile of books, an apple, and block letters on a school desk]](https://i1.wp.com/www.ata-divisions.org/ID/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/element5-digital-OyCl7Y4y0Bk-unsplash.jpg?resize=150%2C150)
New challenges–and opportunities–for educational interpreters during a pandemic
The good, the bad, and the not-so-tech-savvy By Alina Avelar Roque On the morning of March 13, 2020, Anaheim Elementary School District, where I've been working for over five years as an interpreter/translator, held an emergency board meeting to vote on suspending in-person learning due to … [Read More...]
Professional standards and self-care in remote interpreting
Ever since COVID-19 upended the world as we know it, interpreters around the world have had to adjust to working remotely. We’ve learned how to work with a variety of platforms and equipment. We’ve educated ourselves about potential hiccups and how to resolve them. We’ve even developed our … [Read More...]

To be or not to be certified: the dilemma for non-Spanish interpreters
By Yasmin Alkashef In an industry where the majority of professionals are freelancers and where subject-matter expertise cannot be easily judged by clients or intermediaries, certification remains the gatekeeper to quality. Hiring a translator or interpreter without verified qualifications or … [Read More...]
![[booth]](https://i1.wp.com/www.ata-divisions.org/ID/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/SIM-PHONIE_Studio_Fotografie_tridea_Benjamin_Lanz_02-cropped-scaled.jpg?resize=150%2C150)
How can I make RSI platforms work for me as a freelancer?
by Julia Poger This post originally appeared on the webzine Communicate! and is republished with permission. “Wait a minute,” I can hear you say. “I didn’t sign on to be an interpreter to work remotely - I want to go to conferences in exotic places! I want to see and work with my friends! I like … [Read More...]