Practical Tips for a Successful Career as a Language Provider

A panel on translation and interpretation with Translingua Associates, Inc.

November 10, Thursday, 6 pm. Hunter College, Elizabeth Hemmerdinger Center, Room 706, Hunter East Bldg. In-person, with proof of vaccination. RSVP required. C0-hosted by MATI @ Hunter College.

Join us for a panel presented by Nicole Michel-Deshagette & Ilaria Migliardi, owners of Translingua Associates, Inc., with the participation of translator and publishing consultant Alta Price, as well as interpreters, translators and voice-over talents QinQin McCarthy and Emigdio Marabotto!

TransLingua was founded and incorporated in 1984. At the beginning, we were a language school offering foreign language and English classes to individuals, private businesses and government agencies. Over the years, TransLingua has expanded, and today we are a certified WBE (Woman Business Enterprise) with 10 permanent staff covering offices in New York City and Boulder, CO. TransLingua has a vast network of professional linguists in the United States and all over the world.  All our linguists are certified and/or members of the American Translators Association (ATA) or locally the New York Circle of Translators (NYCT) with years of experience providing top quality translation, localization, proofreading/editing, desktop publishing, transcription, interpretation, and other language services in over 100 languages and dialects.

Ilaria Migliardi, COO. Born in Italy, Ilaria graduated cum laude from the Asian Languages Department of the University of Venice in Italy, after studies conducted both at SOAS (London) and Fudan University (Shanghai). She worked in Asia for several years, both in PRC as the assistant general manager for an Italian-Chinese joint venture, and in Hong Kong and Taiwan as a consultant to Italian companies conducting business in the area, and as a free-lance translator for several international clients. In the late 1990s she moved to New York and joined TransLingua as a project manager in 2000. In 2005 she became co-owner and COO of the company. She oversees all operations, project management as well as hiring, onboarding and training of all new resources and staff. In addition to Italian, she is fluent in English, Spanish, Chinese, French and Russian.

Nicole Michel-Deshagette, CEO. A native of Berne, Switzerland, Nicole was brought up in a multicultural environment and speaks several languages, including French, German, Spanish and Creole. She holds a BA in Translation from the Zürich School of Translation and Interpretation, Switzerland. In 1992 Nicole joined TransLingua as a project manager, and in 2000 she and two of her co-workers took over the company from the previous owners. She has dedicated her life and career to promoting diversity and multicultural communication. Together with her business partners she achieved WBE certification, has been awarded DiversityBusiness.com’s Top Diversity Business Award for five consecutive years, as well as the 2018, 2019 & 2020 Readers Awards for Top Language Service Provider by the New York and New Jersey Law Journals. Nicole is an active member of the Swiss-American Chamber of Commerce and Supporting Member of fiaf French Institute Alliance Française.

Alta L. Price runs a publishing consultancy specialized in literature and nonfiction texts on art, architecture, design, and culture. Alta holds a BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design and an MFA from Hunter College. Recipient of the Gutekunst Prize, Alta’s translations from German and Italian have appeared on BBC Radio 4, Trafika Europe, Words Without Borders, and elsewhere. Of the more than forty books Alta has translated, the latest ones are Juli Zeh’s novel New Year — finalist for the 2022 PEN America Translation Prize as well as the Helen & Kurt Wolff Prize — and Mithu Sanyal’s novel Identitti.

Emigdio Marabotto. EN<>ES Interpreter. "I was born and raised in Mexico City, where I studied languages, physics, philosophy & music.  As a child I lived in Pennsylvania where my father got a job with a steel company.  At 29, I moved permanently to NYC, where I have lived and worked as an EN<>ES interpreter, translator and voice-over talent ever since. My experience as an interpreter includes legal depositions, court hearings, business meetings and conferences, patient medical appointments, UN conferences, events at educational institutions and other organizations. I’ve also traveled overseas to help clients communicate with local communities in different countries. Current and previous clients I have served include TV/Radio stations (e.g. CBS 60 Minutes), online platforms (e.g. Rekt Global, Infinite Reality), NGOs (e.g. Catholic Charities), countless law firms, community-based entities (e.g. Innovation QNS, Fresh Air Fund), the United Nations, educational institutions (e.g. Spence School, Zeta Schools, Brearley School), clinics & hospitals (e.g. Montefiore), government agencies (e.g. NYC Dept. of City Planning), focus groups (e.g. NYC Keep Kids Safe), and religious institutions (e.g. The Episcopal Diocese of Long Island) .  In Mexico City I studied French at the Alliance Française, Italian at the Dante Alighieri Institute, German at the Goethe-Institut, and professional interpretation & translation courses at the Instituto Superior de Intérpretes y Traductores. Once in the U.S., I joined the New York Circle of Translators (NYCT) and the National Association of Judiciary Interpreters & Translators (NAJIT)."

QinQin McCarthy. Interpreter. QinQin McCarthy has been a translator and interpreter since 2006. She has experience in a broad spectrum of subjects ranging from politics, economics, law, insurance, medical and pharmaceuticals to education, media, architecture, and the creative arts. She has interpreted for numerous heads of governments, global business leaders and prominent academics, serving public and private institutions such as multinational Fortune 500 companies(e.g. Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan), international organizations (e.g. the United Nations), government agencies (e.g. the Federal Reserve), universities (e.g. Columbia, Harvard, NYU, Princeton, Wharton, West Point and Yale), event organizers and NGOs (e.g. Asia Society, The Aspen Institute, Bloomberg Philanthropies) across the United States, Europe and China. QinQin graduated from the School of Foreign Languages of Nanjing University and the University of California, Berkeley, she has also received advanced interpreting training from the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific of the United Nations (UNESCAP). QinQin is a member of American Translators Association (ATA), National Association of Judiciary Interpreters & Translators (NAJIT), and New York Circle of Translators (NYCT).

Directions: At the reception desk of the Hunter West Building, please present your ID and proof of vaccination to get a pass. From there, take the escalator to the 3rd floor, turn right and walk across the sky bridge to the Hunter East Building, then take the elevator to the 7th floor. Hemmerdinger Center is at the end of the hallway past the turnstiles. CUNY policy states that to enter the campus, visitors are required to show proof of either full vaccination or a negative PCR test within seven days of their intended visit date. Everyone MUST complete the Cleared4 Access Process, where they will be asked to upload a photo of their vaccination card or a negative test result. The Cleared4 Access Process can be accessed here. We recommend that you complete this process prior to your visit in order to avoid a delay in entering the campus.