The 2022 CTA Election committee is pleased to present the following 4 officer candidates to the membership. Voting will start on Monday, April 11 and it will close on Friday, April 29 at 11:59 pm MT. All CTA members, including Institutional/Corporate and Student members, have the right to vote in these elections. Institutional/Corporate members are entitled to 1 vote, to be cast by the individual representative in whose name the membership is held.
Please review the candidacy statements for the President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer candidates which appear below. Voting instructions will be sent to all CTA members by email on April 11. Please direct any questions to the Election Committee.
Candidate for President: Robert Sette
It has been a pleasure to serve as CTA Secretary for the past 2 years, and I am honored to accept the Election Committee’s nomination to run for CTA President. I have been a translator for 33 years, working from Spanish, French, Portuguese, Italian & Catalan into English. In addition to my CTA duties, I am currently serving a term as an ATA Board member (2020-2023).
The past 2 years have been full of challenges for all of us. We have faced changes in the way we work and our workload, how we gather as professionals and friends, and some of us have faced sickness and losses among our family members and friends. The Board that was seated in Spring 2020 was suddenly faced with a blank, virtual canvas, and we did our best to paint a realistic portrait while at times having to color outside the lines. We realigned our dues structure to consider some of the pandemic-related challenges that our members faced, and we shifted member payments to a more reliable and economical credit card processor. We provided webinars free of charge to our members and guests alike; we held alternative events in lieu of our annual holiday dinners, and we gathered for an International Translation Day luncheon in 2021. Sadly, we were forced to sacrifice 2 years of our very popular annual conference.
As we are seemingly emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic, I am hopeful for the success of this year’s CTA Conference and for the resumption of other in-person events. One thing we have learned, however, is that virtual events such as webinars and networking sessions are an important component of what CTA does, in that they enable us to reach out to our members who do not live in the greater Denver area. They also help us to strengthen ties with other T&I organizations and with various ATA Divisions. For this reason, I hope to continue these activities and even explore new types of virtual events that will continue to build ties among us and expand our membership.
Other objectives that I have in my sights for CTA in the next 2 years include:
• Building a broader team to manage our social media and website content;
• Continued development of our outreach to local students and channeling prepared candidates into the CTA mentoring program;
• Solicitation of member feedback as to new events and developments that the Board can implement;
• Resumption and development of our annual conference (with planning for the 10th CTA Conference underway for May 14 of this year);
• Continuing our support of and coordination with ATA in our capacity as an ATA Chapter.
In closing, I respectfully ask for your vote, and I welcome your feedback and comments at any time during the coming Board term.
Candidate for Vice President: Basma Maghazaji
I would like to formally declare my candidacy for the position of Vice President of the Board of the Colorado Interpreters & Translators Association. I have been a member of CTA since 2016 and have attended all CTA conferences and events. I have been working as a translator for more than 20 years and as an interpreter more than 7 years. I earned my MA in scientific translation and interpretation from Al Mustansiriyah University in Baghdad, Iraq. The department of translation in the College of Art was the first department in the Arab region to teach translation and interpretation.
After graduation, I taught at the University for 15 years. I taught translation, theories of translation, grammar, composition, comprehension and English literature. I moved from Iraq to Syria where I worked as an instructor and translator. I translated all types of texts, and at that time, we used paper dictionaries only in translation. I translated literary books, educational books, medical essays, legal papers and many touristy booklets. In Kuwait, the second country I moved to, I worked in translation, while teaching and organizing conferences. My last station is Colorado where I started my journey as an interpreter. I took a lot of training, attended many conferences and I am still learning.
Now I am teaching Arabic at the University of Colorado at Boulder besides my work as an interpreter. I interpret mainly in medical settings and especially in mental health settings. I feel that I have good experience to share with others. Serving on the CTA Board will give me the opportunity to share my experience.
CITA is a wonderful association, and as a translator, interpreter and instructor I could not have picked a better institution to cooperate with. I am grateful for the opportunities I have been granted so far and hope to be able to continue by serving CTA as Vice President.
Candidate for Secretary: Pablo Molina
I am pleased to run for the position of CTA Secretary.
Since moving to Colorado in 2018, I have lived with my wife and children in Lakewood; I feel blessed to have the opportunity of residing in an area that combines stunning parks with urban life. My languages are Spanish, English, French, and Portuguese. I am currently working for the Department of Health with a wonderful team of colleagues. As an independent contractor, I specialize primarily in the translation of academic works, an area closely related to my background. Indeed, I hold Ph.D. degrees in Chemistry and Classical Languages. Not surprisingly, I deeply enjoy working with researchers in fields in which I have some expertise and helping them translate their articles and books into another language.
I have always relished interacting with other CTA linguists; probably because the language industry attracts people from quite diverse backgrounds and interesting life experiences. I look forward to working with the new leadership team during the next two years as we think of new ways to better serve our community.
Candidate for Treasurer: Ilona Mason
For those who do not know me, my name is Ilona Mason. Originally from the beautiful country of Ukraine, I came to the United States of America in 2001 and Colorado has been my home for 20 years now. I hold a degree in accounting from the Technical College of Ukraine, and I later decided to change my career path and become a translator and interpreter of Ukrainian and Russian <> English. Currently, I am volunteering as a Ukrainian interpreter for the refugees in the current crisis situation.
I have been a member of CTA since 2017 and have served as Membership Coordinator for four years. If elected as CTA Treasurer, I look forward to working with the other Board members, providing support and professional development for our organization.
