Speed dates

As a interpreting and translation student or as a young language professional, you do not always know what to expect. If you need guidance in your budding professional carreer or if you would like to have a chat with colleagues, sign up for the speed date session.

Allow the dates to introduce themselves:

Anjo Sterringa is a Dutch lawyer/linguist with over 15 years of translation experience in legal and technical translations as well as transcreation. She translates EN-NL, NL-EN (for technical and legal texts), and ES-NL. She obtained a DipTrans (Diploma in Translation) certificate EN-NL while living in Spain and after moving back to the Netherlands in 2019 she also became a sworn translator in her two main language combinations EN-NL and NL-EN. She also enjoys interpreting (consecutive). She moved to Spain in the 1990’s where she worked as a teacher of English, store manager, sailing instructor and marine engineer in Barcelona and Mallorca. She spent two years sailing in the Caribbean and eventually started translating in 2003. This enabled her to continue traveling and took her to the mountainous area of Asturias in Northern Spain, where she was involved in animal rescue up to her return to the Netherlands.

Bart Roelands (44) is an English-Dutch (and vice versa) translator. After graduating in International Business & Languages, he held several office positions at international companies. Together with his wife, he has been working as a freelance translator in their company BeeCommunication since 2010. Bart mainly translates commercial texts, legal (not sworn) documents (such as agreements, employment contracts, general terms and conditions) and texts for business use (correspondence, websites, HR documents). In addition to translating, Bart also builds WordPress websites, particularly multilingual ones (which therefore overlap nicely with his work as a translator). Bart lives in Rosmalen and practises his fine profession as a freelance translator from his home office. Bart likes a (word) pun and a bit of humour at times and likes to immerse himself in the client’s products and services and what the client wishes to achieve with the translation. During these sessions, he will be happy to tell you more about the wonderful profession of translator.

Margot Reesink (1967) studied Translation at UvA University of Amsterdam. She worked as a journalist/subeditor in nature and environment before switching to subtitling.  Since 2004 she has been making a living as an editor/corrector and translator (English-Dutch). Starting out with young adult books, she has shifted her focus to popular science, history and culture, and now counts publishers, magazines and cultural institutions among her clients. Her career has taught her a lot about cold calling, finding your focus (niche) and continuing to grow as a professional.

Susanne Bittner, native speaker German. Good, solid translator. A great colleague to work with (I’m told) and always ready and willing to lend a helping hand.  

Ellen Singer has been a technical translator for more than twenty-five years and is co-owner of a hands-on translation agency that provides a wide range of services, AzTech Solutions. She cannot seem to be able to focus exclusively on one specialization. Projects that require creativity and rhyming skills are viewed as a challenge, as do transcreation projects and speaking at translation conferences on a wide range of topics. Ellen has to be working on many projects at the same time to feel alive. Ellen loves travelling, history, board games, technology, challenges and more!

Amarins van der Sluis (1981) lives on the island of Curacao. She has a master’s degree in Spanish Literature and a bachelor’s degree in Spanish Translation. In 2007, she was sworn in as a translator for Spanish in the Netherlands, and since then, she has been working as a freelance translator and interpreter. Over the years, she specialized in the medical and legal translation fields, translating from and into Dutch, Spanish and English. Her clients include several Ministries of the Curacao Government, as well as the Central Bank of Curacao and Sint Maarten. She also works as a court interpreter for the Joint Court of Justice of Curacao. She interprets in criminal cases, family law cases and civil law cases, in the languages Dutch, Spanish, Papiamentu and English.

Anna Roelofsz (1967) studied English Language and Literature at the University of Amsterdam. She got her degree in 1993. She continued to work for various publishers (books and magazines) as an editor and did occasional translation and writing jobs. In 2005 she established herself as a full-time freelance translator and copywriter. Combining writing and translating has worked well for her. ‘Translating has taught me to write better, with more care and attention. And writing has taught me to translate better, more naturally and inventively.’ Since 2015, Anna has been a lecturer at ITV Hogeschool voor Tolken en Vertalen. She now lives in a old farm in Normandy and runs a chambre (and table) d’hôtes with her husband. In the quiet months outside the tourist season, she continues to write, translate and teach. 

Veerle Goethals behaalde een masterdiploma “Taal- en letterkunde: Latijn en Grieks” aan de Katholieke Universiteit Leuven en een masterdiploma Rechten aan de Université libre de Bruxelles. Daarna werkte zij als juridisch adviseur aan het Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest en als jurist-vertaler bij het Hof van Justitie in Luxemburg. Sinds 2018 is zij vertaler bij de Nederlandse vertaalafdeling van de Europese Commissie in Luxemburg.

Sjir Worms (1989) works as a translator for the European Commission in Luxembourg since 2020. After obtaining an MA degree in History from the Radboud University Nijmegen in 2012, he worked in publishing and online editing before landing a translation traineeship at the European Parliament. After that, he worked as a freelance translator, and later as an in-house translator and “Language Lead” for a major LSP.

If you would like to sign up for a 10 min. speed date, please register for the Tolk- en Vertaalcongres and follow the instructions provided in your (confirmation) e-mail.