Our people
ITI is the professional home of translators and interpreters in the UK and internationally and serves as a meeting place for all those who understand the importance of translation and interpreting to the economy and society.
The elected Board of Directors sets the strategic direction of the organisation and the small staff team of nine is responsible for delivering our strategic priorities and providing membership services.
Our values
- Valuing professionalism
- Upholding high standards
- Being welcoming and inclusive
- Being forward-looking
- Behaving ethically
Staff team
For contact details, click on a team member's picture.
Sara Robertson
- Email:
- [email protected]
- Phone:
- 01908 325250
Caroline Wells
- Email:
- [email protected]
- Phone:
- 01908 325256
Jacqui Flint
- Email:
- [email protected]
- Phone:
- 01908 325252
Katie Witton
- Email:
- [email protected]
- Phone:
- 01908 325250
Rachel O’Callaghan
- Email:
- [email protected]
- Phone:
- 01908 325250
Jason Pinnock
- Email:
- [email protected]
- Phone:
- 01908 325250
Victoria Hill
- Email:
- [email protected]
- Phone:
- 01908 325251
Carolina Alves
- Email:
- [email protected]
- Phone:
- 01908 325250
Emma Cull
- Email:
- [email protected]
- Phone:
- 01908 325250
Board members
ITI is a Company Limited by Guarantee. Its elected board is responsible for all strategic, financial and membership aspects of the Institute. The ITI Board is made up of Sara Robertson, Chief Executive and the following ITI members (click on their picture to read more about them):
Nicki Bone MITI
Nicki graduated with an Honours Degree in Modern Languages from Coventry Polytechnic (now University) and then spent over 20 years working in international sales and marketing before becoming a freelance translator in 2013. She is a Qualified Member of ITI (FR>EN, DE>EN) and Chair of the ITI Board.
Nicki provides translation, proofreading and commercial language services from French, Spanish, German and Italian into English.
With her extensive commercial experience and knowledge, she is a firm believer in enhancing the professional aspects and perceived commercial value of the translation industry.
Carmen Swanwick-Roa MITI
Carmen is a freelance translator from Spanish and Portuguese into English, specialising in the areas of medicine and international development.
She also works as a précis-writer for the World Health Organization and International Labour Organization, which involves travelling to Geneva to work in-house.
From 2014 to 2017, she worked part-time at the University of Leeds’ Centre for Translation Studies, first as a CAT technology demonstrator and then as a tutor in Portuguese-to-English translation.
She is a Committee member of the ITI Medical and Pharmaceutical Network.
Fiona Gray MITI
Fiona works from German to English and specialises in creative and marketing translation. Having spent several years in in-house proofreading, translation and project management roles, she started working as a freelance translator in 2016 and passed the MITI assessment in 2017.
Fiona is the Coordinator of the ITI East Anglia Network, a member of the ITI Membership Committee and the Marketing Tutor on our Setting Up as a Freelance Translator Course. She recently started mentoring through the ITI French Network Business Mentoring scheme and launched her own Business Buddy programme as a way of giving linguistic feedback and business guidance to translators just starting out in their careers.
Marian Dougan FITI
Marian has been a freelance translator for over 25 years, working from Italian and French into English. She lived in Italy for 24 years, and recently spent four years in Germany as an in-house translator/editor at the European Central Bank.
She is a member (and former committee member and Convenor) of ITI Scotnet, and a member of ITI-LIFTnet and the Italian Network.
She is very interested in outreach activity, and she loves sharing her enthusiasm for translation with pupils at local schools, through talks and participating in career days.
Kerry Gilchrist MITI
Kerry worked in retail management, national and international customer services and international transport before starting out as a freelance translator in 2000. She has a BA in German and Russian and an MA in Translation Studies, as well as the CIOL Dip Trans.
Kerry translates from German and Dutch into English, covering arts, humanities, marketing, tourism and business, and has a particular interest in digital transformation, sustainability and the circular economy. She is also joint coordinator for the YTI, ITI's regional Yorkshire Network.
Lloyd Bingham MITI
Lloyd Bingham MITI runs Capital Translations in Cardiff, Wales. He works from Dutch, German, French and Spanish into English, specialising in business, technology and education. Lloyd is a member of ITI and SENSE, a committee member of ITI Cymru Wales and is a former tutor on ITI’s Starting Up as a Freelance Translator course.
Agata McCrindle FITI
Agata is a Polish FITI translator and FITI interpreter. Her professional experience and academic background are in international business and law. For 15 years Agata combined public service interpreting with working for commercial enterprises interpreting and translating for businesses and chambers of commerce. In recent years, due to the outsourcing of interpreting services in the justice sector, Agata has shifted her focus to direct clients in the private sector.
She advocates the values of collaboration and use of technology. She co-founded and chairs the ITI Polish Network and runs CPD events for the LIFT Network.
Dean Evans MITI
Dean Evans MITI is a freelance translator working from German, Spanish and French to English. A patents and IP specialist, he provides translation and editing services to IP firms, international patent organisations and specialist translation agencies. He is a member of the ITI's Professional Development Committee and is Coordinator of the ITI French Network. As a Board member Dean is keen to support members to develop resilient, future-proof businesses.
Anna Kerod MITI
Anna holds a master’s degree in biology but she found her true calling in professional language services. She worked for 17 years as an in-house legal interpreter and translator in a boutique London law firm providing services for the oil and gas industry. In 2017 Anna set up a company which focuses on translations and interpreting in commercial litigation and international arbitration, working in the private market.
She is passionate about upholding professional standards in interpreting and believes in building strong direct client relationships and mutually beneficial networks with her colleagues. In her free time she loves outdoor pursuits, skiing in particular, and the occasional bout of cooking.
Linah Makembu
Linah is a freelance interpreter and translator working from Swahili into English. She specialises in the areas of criminal and justice, immigration, and healthcare, and runs Jambo Linguists Limited in the North of England. Linah started her linguistic journey as a volunteer in 2019 in a local church, a service she still carries out today, and has a Level 3 in Community Interpreting from the International School of Linguists. She is an Associate member of ITI, Career Affiliate Member of CIOL, a Language Assessor with DPSI Online, and a Member of the Union of Professional Interpreters and Translators (NUPIT). Linah has a keen interest in advocacy work and the development and representation of Africas rare languages to ensure equitable access to resources.
Committees
ITI currently has the following committees:
Membership
Purpose:
- To oversee ITI membership applications based on the Institute's bylaws and quality standards
- To propose appropriate amendments to the bylaws and to create and update literature for applicants and their referees
Chair: Cate Avery FITI
Download the Membership Committee Terms of reference.
Fellowship
Purpose:
- To consider applications from Qualified Members (MITI) for Fellowship of the Institute and to advise the Board on such proposed appointments
Chair: Francesca Matteoda FITI
Appeals
Purpose:
- To act as an independent panel for any appeals lodged as part of the assessment process, based on the Institute's bylaws
Chair: Francoise Vignon FITI
Nominations
Purpose, to take the lead in identifying:
- Potential candidates for election to the Board
- Chairs of the Membership, Fellowship, Professional Conduct, Appeals, and Professional Development committees
- Members of the Membership, Fellowship, Professional Conduct, Appeals, and Professional Development committees
Chair: Kerry Gilchrist MITI
Download the Nominations Committee Terms of Reference.
Professional Conduct
Purpose:
-
To implement Article 5.5 of ITI’s Articles of Association: to advise the Board on maintaining, promoting and enforcing the Institute’s standards for professional conduct among its members.
Chair: Dr Joanna Waller FITI
Download the Professional Conduct Committee Terms of reference.
Professional Development
Purpose:
- Monitor external factors influencing good practice in professional development
- Monitor the development, implementation and evaluation of CPD initiatives
- Propose programme and policy changes to ensure that the programme meets the needs of ITI and its members
- Identify relevant topics and helping to source qualified speakers
- Promote the value of CPD to members and encourage the adoption of professional development practices
Chair: Jo Durning MITI
Remunerations
Purpose:
- Set the company's remuneration policy
- Determine the Chief Executive's total individual remuneration package
- Set the targets for any performance-related pay
The committee members are the Chair of the Board, the two Vice Chairs, and Mark Robinson (ITI's accountant).
ITI currently has the following working group:
AI working group
Purpose:
- Support ITI staff to gather ITI member insights on their understanding and use of genAI and associated technologies (e.g. Pulse surveys, opening meetings, regular discussion forum)
- Define the meaning of genAI in relation to professional language services and create a glossary of terminology to support ITI members’ understanding
- Support ITI staff to curate and update the AI section of the ITI Knowledge Hub by identifying key sources of guidance and information which might benefit ITI members
- Develop a library of use case examples that demonstrate when AI tools might and might not be appropriate
- Engage with higher education providers to understand how T&I training is changing in response to the evolution of genAI and build a picture of the skills needed by future practitioners
- Suggest potential topics for genAI-related ITI training sessions that can be delivered through the proposed Learning Management System or webinars
- Provide advice to ITI staff on the potential to respond to Government policy consultations on genAI and language services-related topics
- Collaborate with research institutions working on the topic of genAI including participating in research and disseminating research findings
Chair: Iwan Davies FITI
Download the AI working group Terms of reference.