The ATA Chronicle - September/October 2023 - 19

to make the organization
even stronger. ATA has done
its part for me and now it is
my turn to help build it. With
your trust and faith, I would
work very hard to make the
day come when ATA becomes
the symbol of prestige and
authority in the translation
and interpreting sphere, and
the welcoming professional
home to all of us!
Professional Development
Committee. I have been
participating in ATA's
Mentoring Program and
interviewing guests for the
Inside Specialization series
on The ATA Podcast. All these
roles have allowed me to learn
about the inner workings
of the large and diverse
organization that is ATA.
DANIEL SEBESTA
daniel@praguelinguistics.com
It is my honor and privilege
to be considered for ATA's
Board of Directors.
A Little about Me: With a
background in linguistics,
business, and law, I have
been working with English,
German, French, Slovak, and
my native Czech since 2003.
While ATA does not offer
certification in my language
pairs, I am certified by various
European bodies. Having
lived, worked, and studied in
five countries and visited 99
countries, I am able to look
beyond the U.S. market.
Learning the Ropes: I have
been an ATA member since
2006, regularly attending
and speaking at conferences
since 2009. Involved with
ATA's Language Technology
Division since 2018, I
also chaired the Divisions
Committee and served on the
www.ata-chronicle.online
Central Role of Technology:
For most of us, embracing
technology is going to be
central to maintaining a
lucrative language business
into the future. Various
technologies are set to
transform our industry in
ways we cannot yet fully
foresee. Our future, though
uncertain, is exciting and
we have the power to shape
it. Technology in the hands
of skilled experts like us can
help increase productivity
and help our professions
add more value for our
clients or employers in this
era of ubiquitous machine
translation. ATA, as one
of the largest professional
associations in our industry
worldwide, can and should
lead the way into this future.
If elected, I pledge to steer
our Association toward an
industry that embraces the
meaningful, productive,
and ethical use of language
technology.
Navigating Transition at
ATA Headquarters: I am
keenly aware of the many
disruptions brought about
by the transition at ATA
Headquarters. If elected,
I will ask questions and
challenge decisions with a
view to achieving maximum
efficiency of Headquarters
processes and ensuring
member services are provided
predictably and on time.
Engaging Our
Members, Expanding
Our Membership: ATA
membership has been
trending downward for
years. If elected, I will work
to address the reasons why
past members have left and
why young professionals
are hesitant to join. This
may require highlighting
existing member benefits
in an engaging way, but
also designing new member
benefits and positioning
ATA as the go-to platform
in this era of tech-powered
language services.
Cooperation with Other
Industry Bodies: With our
newly found confidence as a
thought leader in a techforward
industry, we have a
lot to offer our counterparts
in other countries (language
associations outside the
U.S.) and adjacent industries
(machine translation,
language data, etc.) and
can benefit from synergies
with them. As a member of
a variety of industry bodies
and with my global outlook,
I will advocate for any
meaningful cooperation.
I am looking forward to
this opportunity to serve the
Association, if elected.
ROBERT SETTE, CT
robert@robertsette.com
I am pleased to accept the
nomination of my colleagues
for reelection to ATA's Board.
I have been a full-time
freelance translator for 34
years. I am ATA-certified
from Spanish, French,
Portuguese, and Italian into
English and also work from
Catalan into English. I live
in Denver, Colorado, where I
currently serve as president
of the Colorado Interpreters
and Translators Association
(CITA), an ATA chapter.
As an ATA volunteer,
I have been a frequent
presenter at ATA conferences
and other conferences
in the U.S. and Europe
(such as the one hosted by
the European Language
Industry Association).
During my current term on
ATA's Board, I chaired the
committee that organized
ATA's one-day Virtual
Conference this past May. I
also serve on the Professional
Development Committee
and on the Leadership
Council of the Language
Technology Division, and
I have been working on
establishing ATA's Special
Interest Groups (SIGs)
during the past year. I have
also served as a conference
" buddy " for newbies, a
member and chair of the
Nominating and Leadership
Development Committee, a
Spanish>English grader, and
a mentor.
Advances in artificial
intelligence (AI) are changing
and transforming our
professions at breakneck
speed. As we adapt to these
new challenges, ATA's client
education efforts are more
crucial than ever. We must
American Translators Association 19
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The ATA Chronicle - September/October 2023

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