Feel free to forward this
newsletter to your peers in T&I!
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An ode to spring from NOTIS board member Kay Heikkinen:
“ I grew up in Florida, and when spring came, it was a whisper—a slight warming, a subtle softening of the breeze, a small change in the quality of the light, a flower or two we had not seen in a while. Moving first to New England, later to the Midwest, and now the Pacific Northwest, I have acquired a completely different set of associations: the air may still be chilly and the skies sometimes gray and rainy, but the lengthening light, birdsong, and glorious profusion of colors evoke a deep-seated reaction in me. Shy white snowdrops, tentative purple crocuses, boisterous hyacinths, the deep, assertive yellow of forsythia and daffodils, the red and then tender green of new leaves against bare branches, the redbuds, the white and pink magnolia flowers and tulip tress, and of course the glorious clouds of white and pink crabapples and cherry blossoms, all before we’ve seen our first tulip or lilac bloom… all bring reasons to hope, yet again.
Meanwhile, we hope you will also find things to enjoy in our spring newsletter. We have quite a few photos from recent in-person events, plus… - an Ethics Panel inquiry regarding fraud, waste, and abuse (FWA) in medical interpreting
- an intro to our newest NOTIS Board Members: Tiva and Norma
- a poem translated from the Romanian by Ileana Marin
- a preview of our upcoming events—and those of others
... and, as happens, more. Read on!
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NOTIS Gets a Bit More Social 🎭 |
One of the most frequent requests on NOTIS’s 2024 Member Satisfaction Survey was “more in-person events in different areas” or, as one member put it, “let us get a bit more social.” Now, with your help, it’s happening!
Want to propose an event in your area? Check out this often-overlooked membership perk—and let us know 📨 info@notisnet.org. |
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In January, about 15 interpreters and translators gathered in Spokane, WA, for a night of networking and connection over pizza, salad, and drinks. Who knew a slice of pie could lead to new friendships and fresh opportunities?!
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Ten NOTIS members gathered in Poulsbo, WA, on Friday, 02/21 (which just happy-accidentally happened to be International Mother Language Day) for a lovely evening of company and conversation graciously hosted by former board member Katerina Warns.
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In late March, NOTIS members and friends gathered at the Tacoma Little Theatre for Lorca in a Green Dress: a powerful play featuring one of our very own—Arwen Dewey—in the role of the flamenco dancer. |
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Katerina Warns, Social Events Committee volunteer, poses for a post-play picture with Arwen Dewey & Laura Friend (past NOTIS President). |
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On March 20, UW Professor and celebrated local literary translator José Alaniz convened colleagues and friends for a lively discussion of fictional portrayals of translators—including the protagonist of his latest book, Tales of Bart—at a NWLitTrans event at Folio: The Seattle Athenaeum. |
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Eager to connect with other T&I professionals in her area, NOTIS member Carola Eguiagaray Shivlani (second from left) organized a casual meetup in early March at a West Seattle coffee shop where strangers made friends over coffee, tea, and scones. Do you 🫵 want to organize a get together? Send an email to info@notisnet.org, and we’ll help spread the word! PRO TIP: If it’s over 30 miles outside of Seattle, NOTIS will cover up to $100 of the cost! Info here. |
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Have an ethics question? Ask an expert! Email your prickliest ethics questions—on all matters T&I—to ethics@notisnet.org and a dedicated panel of subject-matter experts will answer you. Responses will be sent directly to your email address and, in many cases, posted *anonymously* on the Ethics Panel page of our website. Here’s a preview of the latest exchange...
ETHICS QUESTION: “ I am a medical interpreter and was recently assigned by a language company to an appointment paid for by the Washington State Health Care Authority that runs the Apple Health/Medicaid program. As far as I know, a patient must live in Washington to qualify for these benefits [...]
During the appointment, the LEP patient and I chatted while the healthcare provider administered a test. The LEP patient told me that she had come to the US only for the last three months of her pregnancy [and will return to her home country once the baby is born]. This is the second time she has come to the US to give birth. She said she is doing this “just to get the passport.”
As part of my contract with the language company, I am required to undergo Federal Fraud, Waste, and Abuse (FWA) training to learn what constitutes FWA and when and how to report it. I also signed an attestation stating, “I am fully capable of recognizing and identifying potential Fraud, Waste and Abuse.” Given this LEP patient’s disclosure, I suspect [...] fraud. However, I’m not sure the [...] agreement I signed applies to the WA State program.
Regardless, I feel uncomfortable at the thought that this person may be taking advantage of fraudulently obtained government benefits. I feel it is my ethical duty to report my suspicions. Do you agree? (By the way, is your Ethics Panel only meant for court interpreters?)
PANEL RESPONSE: “ The NOTIS Ethics Panel deals with questions from interpreters of all fields, as well as translators, language companies, and anyone who works with interpreters and/or translators. A person is in an ethical dilemma if they face at least two conflicting ethical requirements wherein abiding by one inevitably leads to violating the other. On first reading, this appears to be a true ethical dilemma. However, after careful reading and cursory investigation, the panel finds that the answer is quite straightforward, and we offer the following recommendations… ___________________________
The panel’s thorough response touches on:
- standards of neutrality & impartiality,
- confidentiality, and
- the specific contract under which the interpreter is working...
Read it here on the NOTIS website. ☐ |
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LAST CALL for Conference Papers‼️
May 9 is the deadline to submit your proposals for in-person presentations at the #NOTIS2025 Annual Conference on Saturday, September 13, in Lynnwood, Washington. Speaking at a NOTIS conference offers you an extraordinary opportunity to share your expertise, build your network, and promote your brand among skilled industry professionals in the PNW and beyond!
You will find additional details—including in-demand topics, compensation details, conditions, and more—here, on the submission form. ☐
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Meet Our New Board Members! 👋
Each year, in early January, the NOTIS Board of Directors meets for an annual planning meeting. These meetings help the incoming board set the tone for the year, electing officers, picking dates for the year’s big events, staffing committees, and welcoming new board members.
This year, we are honored to welcome two new members to the board: Norma Kaminsky and Simeamativa (Tiva) Aga! Our 2025 officers are Maria Lucas (president, incoming), Christina Woelz (vice president, incoming), Rosemary Nguyen (treasurer, continuing), and new member Norma Kaminsky (secretary, incoming). Our continuing board members are Kay Heikkinen, Dubravka Martincic, and Eunyoung Kim.
After just four months (and despite being a few members leaner than last year), NOTIS’s 2025 Board of Directors is hard at work on a wide array of long-term and nascent1 initiatives. Meanwhile, the contributions of our two newcomers—Norma and Tiva—are already being felt and greatly appreciated. We hope you will join us in extending an enthusiastic welcome to them both! |
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SIMEAMATIVA (TIVA) AGA: In 2015, after years of teaching in colleges and secondary schools, Tiva moved from Hawaii to the Pacific Northwest and began preparing for a new career in translation and interpreting. Today, she enjoys “a wonderful career as a certified Samoan-to-English interpreter” and translator, working primarily in the courts.
At the January meeting, Tiva spoke of her deep admiration for NOTIS leadership, past and present, the feeling that she had “struck gold” with her NOTIS and ATA memberships, and the unbridled enthusiasm she feels in volunteering to serve as perhaps the first Pacific Islander on the NOTIS Board of Directors.
You don’t have to spend much time with Tiva to realize how much pride she takes in her heritage, her family (as a mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother), her community, and her work. If you’re a Pacific Islander exploring a future in interpreting, consider contacting Tiva.2a She would love to meet you and show you the ropes! |
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NORMA KAMINSKY, once a physician, is an ATA-certified Spanish-to-English translator with around 30 years’ experience in medical translation and 5 years in the literary sphere. She earned her MD in Costa Rica and her PhD in Comparative Literature from the University of Washington, and she currently lives and translates in Seattle.
When applying to join the NOTIS Board of Directors, Norma explained that, after 14 years enjoying the benefits of membership, she felt compelled to “give something back … by taking advantage of [her] traits of being organized, punctual, and reliable.”
Volunteering on the board—and immediately embracing the added responsibilities of the secretary position—not only allows Norma to give back to our society while playing to her strengths, it also fulfills to two keen interests of hers: “the Northwest Literary Translators and helping [the career development] of translators in general and medical translators in particular.”2b |
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- Nascent initiatives, you ask? We’ve got a few in the works... Have you heard of our practice groups for interpreters?!
- Want to get in touch with Tiva or Norma (or anyone else from the board)? Contact info@notisnet.org. ☐
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Sponsored content from AMN Healthcare, gold-level sponsor of the NOTIS 2024 Annual Conference. To learn about career opportunities for language professionals with AMN Healthcare, click here.
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NOTIS has prepared some excellent programming for you in the coming weeks and months! “Probation 101” and “Interpreting Special Diets” are two of our latest on-demand offerings. Click here to see all 11. The literary translation events on May 7 and 8 are open to all. You need not be a translator to join in on the conversation! |
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Finally, in late May and early June, we’re offering several continuing education webinars—each one catering to a different area of specialization. To learn more about all our upcoming events, click the calendar or button above! ☐ |
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UW Hub Notes ❉
A Message from UW Translation |
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The University of Washington’s Translation Studies Hub is delighted to welcome the brilliant Arabic-English translator Sawad Hussain as the second annual guest in our Literary Translator Residency program. Funded by a generous gift from Lee Scheingold and supported by the Simpson Center for the Humanities, the TS Hub’s new residency program aims to bring literary translators from around the world into conversation with the Seattle literary community. |
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This year, Hussain will be leading a series of exciting events. She will give a public lecture on self-censorship when translating from Arabic, participate in a panel along with esteemed Seattle-based translators Shelley Fairweather-Vega and Takami Nieda, give a colloquium talk about the importance of a translators’ visibility when selling books, and be sent off with a dinner reception at Seattle Public Library’s Central Library on her final night, in a celebration hosted by NOTIS. Read more about these upcoming events here, on the Simpson Center website. ☐
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The day I become older than my mother (I)
The success of such a day
relies on tools essential for survival,
all, with no exception,
in their usual place.
No wrench in the system means
no screwdriver grinding between the teeth
of the cogwheel.
The thriving panic that feeds on lethargy
won’t slow us down.
Tested over time, reflexes
replace autopilot.
Even though I grope for the keys
in the dark, I find them in the little chest
next to the door. The backpack,
on the hook of the coat rack.
I’ll be ceaselessly afraid,
but, but, but,
we’ll get out of the house
on time. Between
7:30 and 7:33 AM.
You’ll get to school
on time.
I’ll get to the swimming pool;
that’s what matters.
This thought gets me through, I grip
the dish sponge in my hand, soap balloons filled with
warm air gush out and fly,
green, purple, and orange reflections
which glue themselves to the kitchen window, and then,
poof! As if they never existed.
The kitchen is squeaky clean. It shines and peeks at me.
The success of tomorrow
begins with a clean slate.
A clean cloth.
Tomorrow is the day I become older
than my mother.
I leave the cap off the dish soap,
knowing perfectly well
that someone will close it
when someone passes by it
to close the bamboo blinds.
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ATENȚIE! This poem is the first in a 4-poem series. To read all 4 of Ileana Marin’s translations—alongside Hendea’s originals—visit the latest Northwest Linguist Blog post. DANIELA HENDEA is a Romanian-born poet and translator who lived in the U.S. between 2008 and 2023. In 2024, she moved back to Romania. ILEANA MARIN is a Romanian-American scholar and literary translator based in Seattle. ☐ |
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Also of Note… ✍️ ️ ️
Have something to share? A call for papers? A recent publication? An upcoming event or scholarship? A brag?! Submit your noteworthy updates to social@notisnet.org!
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NOTIS is a proud in-kind sponsor of LEO’s upcoming virtual conference ⬇️ |
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June 19-20 – Join LEO’s 11th Intl. Virtual Conference: “Elevate Your Human Game.” Conference sessions will explore, for example, how interpreters & translators can thrive amid rapid advancements in AI, evolving compliance standards, and growing demands for specialization. Oh—and past NOTIS President Caitilin Walsh is among the presenters! ☐
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Regarding Our Publications 🗞️ Each year, in addition to near-monthly blog posts, NOTIS publishes four newsletters, with shorter issues in the spring, summer, and fall and a longer issue in the winter (with tons of photos, annual reviews, & more—see here). The principal objective of our publications is to inform, educate, and entertain our publics.
Letters to the editor, short translations or articles, anecdotes, images, calendar items, and other announcements are both welcome and encouraged! For more information, please see our call for submissions.
The 2025 editorial team is led by Brianna Salinas, NOTIS Marketing and Communications Specialist, as editor-in-chief. Her advisors and co-editors include Kay Heikkinen, Zakiya Hanafi, and Tim Gregory.
To submit content, or for any other inquiries, please contact our team at social@notisnet.org. ☐ |
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THANK YOU for reading
the spring '25 issue of
NW News Quarterly! 🪻🐝 |
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