The ATA Chronicle - May/June 2022 - 6

FROM THE PRESIDENT-ELECT
ATA63 Will Be an Event to Remember!
The call for proposals for ATA's 63rd Annual Conference in Los Angeles,
California, closed on March 1. We received 400 proposals for regular
conference sessions and 39 proposals for Advanced Skills & Training
(AST) sessions. This is very exciting because we're back to our
pre-pandemic number of conference proposals-which I take as a sign
that we're all excited to meet in person again!
VERONIKA DEMICHELIS
veronika@veronikademichelis.com
My goal is to
ensure that
we offer a
balanced,
attractive
selection of
conference
sessions that
reflect the needs
and interests of
a wide variety
of conference
attendees.
O
n the flipside, the
task of selecting
conference proposals
was challenging to say the
least. At ATA63, we'll have
168 slots for regular sessions
and 16 slots for AST sessions.
I'm incredibly grateful to our
amazing team of volunteers
and subject matter experts
who helped review session
proposals and shared their
recommendations. The
final decision rests with the
conference organizer, which
is a task I don't take lightly.
My goal is to ensure that we
offer a balanced, attractive
selection of conference
sessions that reflect the needs
and interests of a wide variety
of conference attendees.
Selecting conference
sessions is becoming more
challenging every year (as
each conference organizer
before me will attest). ATA
has 22 divisions, and each of
them is invited to nominate
a distinguished speaker
to present two one-hour
sessions. This dramatically
decreases the number of
conference slots available
for regular sessions. With
the current system of almost
30 language- and subjectspecific
conference tracks,
it's becoming increasingly
difficult to schedule
something for everyone and
offer a variety of sessions for
beginners and veterans alike.
6 The ATA Chronicle | May/June 2022
So, we'll soon need to rethink
our conference tracks-in
fact, you may see this change
at next year's conference.
Everyone who submitted
a session proposal has
now been informed if their
proposal was accepted,
waitlisted, or declined.
A huge thanks to all the
colleagues who submitted a
proposal this year! With the
growth of ATA's Professional
Development program, we
can now offer high-quality,
accessible continuing
education opportunities
year-round. If your
conference proposal was
not accepted this year (and
I know how disappointing
that can be), I hope you'll
consider submitting a
webinar or virtual workshop
proposal. You can submit
a proposal online at
https://bit.ly/ATAproposal
and it will be considered
by ATA's Professional
Development Committee.
And now back to ATA63.
The conference website is live
at www.ata63.org! Head to the
website to learn more about
this year's conference events
and find useful information.
Our conference hotel block is
open. You can book your room
at the Westin Bonaventure at
the discounted rate of $249
(single/double occupancy),
$269 (triple), and $289
(quadruple) directly from the
conference website. ATA rates
are available until September
16, 2022, or as space allows.
Your room rate includes
wireless internet, access to the
fitness center, and discounted
valet parking. Are you looking
for a roommate, a ride, or
need some other information?
The ATA63 Conference blog is
your go-to place for planning
and interaction: https://ataconference.blogspot.com.
I
know you must be
curious about the ATA63
conference schedule, so let
me give you a sneak peek.
Wednesday (October 12):
Registration opens and you
can receive your conference
badge. (Note: If you arrive
early, you can register on
Tuesday afternoon.) We'll
also host AST sessions in
the morning and afternoon.
Along with many great
interactive and in-depth
training sessions from expert
translators and interpreters,
there will be two sessions
dedicated to preparing for
ATA's English into Spanish
and Spanish into English
certification exams. There
will also be an in-person ATA
certification exam sitting on
Wednesday afternoon. We'll
wrap up the day with the
popular Buddies Welcome
Newbies session in the
evening, followed by the
Welcome Celebration.
www.atanet.org
https://ata-conference.blogspot.com https://ata-conference.blogspot.com https://www.bit.ly/ATAproposal http://www.ata63.org http://www.atanet.org
The ATA Chronicle - May/June 2022

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