Advisory Board

Lola Bendana, Chair 

Lola has a degree with a specialization in English-Spanish translation. Lola has been involved in the translation field for over 30 years; since 1997, she has been the Director of Multi-Languages Corporation. She served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Healthcare Interpretation Network (HIN) where she led the project to create the national standards of Canada for Community Interpreting (NSGCIS).

She was a voting member of the Technical Committee of the Canadian General Standards Board that created the Canadian National Translation Service Standards CAN CGSB 131.10-2008. She participated in its reaffirmation in 2017.

She won the Language Industry Association (AILIA) National Award for Outstanding Contribution to the translation sector.  Among other roles, Lola served as the President of the International Medical Interpreters Association (IMIA), delegate to FIT North America, member of the ASTM F43 Committee on Language Services, and member of the Board of Directors of the International Network on Terminology TermNet.

Lola published a book in collaboration with Dr. Alan Melby “Almost Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Translation” and a book in collaboration with Professor Helen Campbell “How to get it right when Contracting Conference Interpreting Services”.

Presently, she is a member of the Board of Directors and past president of the Language Industry Association of Canada (AILIA). Lola has been a member of the Canadian Advisory Committee to ISO TC37 since 2007 where she participates as an expert delegate to create international standards for translation and interpreting and is a member of the Board of Directors and President of the Ontario Council on Community Interpreting (OCCI).

Brian Mossop

Brian worked as a translator, reviser and trainer at the Canadian federal government's Translation Bureau from 1974 to 2014. He has also been teaching revision and specialised  translation to BA and MA students at York University in Toronto since 1980. He regularly leads revision workshops for professional translators in Canada and abroad, and he has published some 60 articles in the field of Translation Studies. For more, visitwww.yorku.ca/brmossop.

Don DePalma

Don DePalma has been involved in shaping the globalization strategies of some of the world's largest firms and the market strategies of some of the most influential language service and technology providers.

As the founder of CSA Research in 1999, Don has been instrumental in establishing the company as the preeminent market research firm in localization and globalization. He initiated CSA Research’s coverage of localization maturity and governance, enterprise language processing, business-driven globalization, machine translation, return on investment for localization, multicultural domestic marketing, global digital transformation, and global content service providers. He also introduced a foundational ROI model for localization with CSA Research’s frequently cited series “Can’t Read, Won’t Buy” for B2C and B2B markets.

Don has decades of experience in the areas of enterprise technologies, language services, and market research. Prior to founding CSA Research, he co-founded Interbase Software, served as vice president of corporate strategy at Idiom Technologies, and was one of the first analysts at Forrester Research, where he consulted to senior management at Global 2000 companies.

While at Forrester, Don launched or grew the firm's coverage of various enterprise technology sectors, including content management, application development for strategic internet systems, database management, digital marketing technologies and customer relationship management, ethnic marketing, knowledge management, and business globalization.

A writer and lecturer, Don has been frequently quoted on the topics of online marketing, content management, multicultural marketing, localization, return on investment, and website globalization. His book, Business Without Borders, has been widely used in university and business training courses.

Don holds a doctorate in linguistics from Brown University, with specializations in generative grammar, computational linguistics, and the historical phonology of Slavic languages. He also studied at Moscow State University and Moscow Linguistic University in Russia, Charles University in the Czech Republic, and ILISA in Costa Rica. He studied a range of Indo-European languages and has visited dozens of countries.

Ewandro Magalhães

Ewandro is a conference interpreter, former chief-interpreter in the United Nations system, and a language technology pioneer. He is also an educator who’s trained interpreters worldwide. Ewandro has two viral TED-Ed videos and two TEDx talks under his belt. He is the author of The Language Game: Inspiration & Insight for Interpreters, and Sua Majestade, o Intérprete: O Fascinante Mundo da Tradução Simultânea, originally released in Portuguese and translated into Spanish. 

He is a co-Founder of former Chief Language Officer of KUDO, a NY-based tech startup and RSI platform that has revolutionized the delivery of interpretation services and given 13,000+ interpreters a home during a time of crisis.

Ewandro is currently a sought-after consultant with Nimdzi Insights, where he holds the position of Global Language Strategist. A citizen of the world, he has lived and worked in his native Brazil, California, DC, NY and Geneva. He has also travelled and led large teams of linguists on high-level missions on four continents.

Renato Beninatto

Renato Beninatto is the Co-founder and Chariman of Nimdzi Insights and the co-author of The General Theory of the Translation Company. As a consultant, he works with investors, analysts, buyers, and suppliers of Language Services to define strategies for growth. Renato has lead several organizational change and technology deployment projects with a focus on long-term solutions for complex organizations. He has been involved with consulting projects for the national and state government entities, large enterprises, and language service providers.

Renato is an Adjunct Professor in the Master of Arts in Translation and Localization Management Program at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, a former president of ELIA (European Language Industry Association) and vice-president of ABRATES (the Brazilian Translators Association). He is a fellow of AALC (Australasian Association of Language Companies) and has served on the Boards of TAUS and Translators without Borders.

Matthew Ball

Dr. Gloria Corpas Pastor

BA in German Philology (English) from the University of Malaga. PhD in English Philology from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid (1994). Visiting Professor in Translation Technology at the Research Institute in Information and Language Processing (RIILP) of the University of Wolverhampton, UK (2007-2023), honorary Adjunct Professor at Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, China (since 2020), and Professor in Translation and Interpreting at the University of Malaga, Spain (since 2008). Published and cited extensively, member of several international and national editorial and scientific committees. Spanish delegate for AEN/CTN 174 and CEN/BTTF 138, Spanish expert for TC37/SC5, where she has been convenor of ISO TC37/SC5AHG2 “Speech to Text” (2019-2023). Extensive experince in institutional evaluation programmes, including verification, monitoring and accreditation (ANECA, AQU, ACCUEE, DEVA, AQU, etc.). President of the Evaluation and Verification Commission (Arts and Humanities) at Fundación para el Conocimiento Madri+d, and President of the Evaluation Committee (the Arts and Humanities) at ACCUEE. She also collaborates regularly as evaluator for the Spanish Ministry in various R&D and youth employment programmes. She has recently been awarded the “2017 Farola Award” in the field of New Technologies, given by the Andalusian Women’s Institute, Junta de Andalucía; the Certificate of Commendation-Saint Francis Prize in Techno-Humanities 2022, given by the Caritas Institute of Higher Education, Hong Kong; the “de Alcalá Award” for her excellent track-record in Arts and the Humanities (2022), given by the University of Alcala; and “Flag of Andalucia Award” on Research, Science and Healthcare (2023), granted by the Andalusian Government. First Prize in the Spin-Off competition (XXVII Edition, 2023).President of AIETI (Iberian Association of Translation and Interpreting Studies, 2015-2017), Vice-President of AMIT-A (Association of Women in Science and Technology of Andalusia, 2014-2017), and Director of the Department of Translation and Interpreting of the University of Malaga (2016-2021). She is currently director of the Research Institute in Multilingual Language Technologies (IUITLM).

Dr. James Archibald

James Archibald holds a doctorate from l’Université de Lille. He currently serves as a faculty member in the Dipartimento di Lingue e Letterature Straniere e Culture Moderne (Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literature and Cultural Studies) at the University of Turin after having taught at McGill University for 35 years where he chaired the Department of Translation and Written Communication for many years.

He has been an invited professor at the Centre de recherche des Écoles de Coëquidan, the University of Milan, l’Université libanaise and l’Université du Saint-Esprit de Kaslik. A Chevalierin l’Ordre des Palmes académiques, he was also awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012 for meritorious service to the profession and the community. He is a former Vice President of the Association for Business Communication and an honorary life member of the Modern Language Association of America. Archibald currently serves on the International Standards Organization’s Mirror Committee on translation and terminology. His research focuses on communications, translation and glottopolitics.

Dr. Maria Constanza Guzman

María Constanza Guzmán is Full Professor in the Department of Hispanic Studies at York University (Toronto, Canada), where she is affiliated with the graduate programs in Translation Studies and in Humanities. She holds a Ph.D in Comparative Literature from the State University of New York, an MA in Translation from Kent State University, and a BA in languages from Universidad Nacional de Colombia. Her main scholarly interests are translation studies and Latin American literature. She has published several articles and book chapters and a number of books, including Gregory Rabassa’s Latin American Literature: A Translator's Visible Legacy and the translation (with Joshua Price) of the novel Heidegger’s Shadow. Her latest publications are the coedited volume Negotiating Linguistic Plurality: Translation and Multilingualism in Canada and Beyond (Co-edited with Şehnaz Tahir Gürçağlar McGill-Queen's University Press, 2022) and the book Mapping Spaces of Translation in Twentieth-Century Latin American Print Culture (Routledge 2020). She currently holds a SSHRC Insight grant for the project "Translators' Archives: Voicing Cultural Agency in Print Culture in the Americas" (2022-2027).  

Dr. María Sierra Córdoba Serrano

María Sierra Córdoba Serrano is an Associate Professor at McGill University and the inaugural Graduate Program Director of the new Master of Science (Applied) in Multilingual Digital Communication. Slated to start accepting students in fall 2025, this interdisciplinary program will bring fundamental changes to traditional translation curricula in Canada in order to equip language, communication and technology professionals with the critical skills needed to advance their careers in this quickly evolving field. She is also a member of the Canadian General Standards Board Committee on Translation Services tasked with reviewing the national translation standard (CAN/CGSB-131.10-2017). 

At McGill, she has served in several leadership positions, including Director of Translation Studies and Assistant Dean of Curriculum and Program Development, providing strategic oversight on new curriculum development initiatives. Prior to joining McGill in 2017, and after studying and freelancing in Spain, Belgium and the U.K., and completing a Master’s and a Ph.D. in Translation Studies at the University of Ottawa, she landed a full-time academic position at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey (California) in 2009, where she served as an Associate Professor for eight years, and Translation Chair for two years. 

As a scholar-practitioner, she is interested in multilingualism management and is currently leading a SSHRC-funded project on the role of translation and language technologies in crisis communication in Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic. She is the author of a book on the sociology of translation (Le Québec traduit en Espagne : analyse sociologique de l’exportation d’une culture périphérique) and the co-author of a special issue of the International Journal of the Sociology of Language. She has also published numerous book chapters and articles in international peer-reviewed journals. She has translated two award-winning novels by Quebec author Nicolas Dicker into Spanish. Notable translation clients over the years have included the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Microsoft, the Council on Foreign Relations, the Shoah Memorial in Paris, The Understanding Group and the National Steinbeck Center.

Donald Barabé

Open 

Open 

Diego Cresceri

Diego Cresceri is a seasoned entrepreneur and the CEO & Founder of Creative Words, a leading language company based in Italy. His clients include multilingual translation agencies, Italian companies looking to expand internationally, and foreign companies aiming to enter the Italian market.

 Diego graduated from the University of Genoa with a degree in Translation and Interpreting. Prior to founding Creative Words, he worked as a translator, Project Manager, and COO in a local translation agency. With his extensive experience in the industry, Diego has a deep understanding of the challenges that businesses face when it comes to language and communication.

 As the CEO of Creative Words, Diego is responsible for the company's strategy and growth. He is passionate about innovation, artificial intelligence, and machine translation, and frequently speaks at workshops, seminars, and industry events on these topics.

 In addition to his professional endeavours, Diego is the former President of the Board of Directors of ELIA, the European Language Industry Association. He is committed to advancing the language industry and promoting cross-cultural understanding and collaboration.

 When he's not busy running his company or speaking at events, Diego enjoys spending time with his two children. His enthusiasm for life extends to everything he does, and he is dedicated to helping others achieve their goals through effective communication and language services.

Oleksandr Pysaryuk