Speakers
Below are the confirmed speakers for the 2023 conference.
Tim Hood
Managing Director, Connecting Now
As the Managing Director of the Connecting Now team, Tim brings over two decades of invaluable leadership and commercial experience to the table. With a distinguished career that encompasses senior management positions in both the private and public sectors, Tim offers a wealth of knowledge and expertise. In addition to his role with Connecting Now, he assumes the pivotal role of Operations Director at QPC, the parent company of Connecting Now. In this capacity, Tim spearheads QPC's technical services, project management office and commercial teams, leveraging his extensive background in IT and Information Security to bolster Connecting Now's capabilities. Tim's tenure at Connecting Now and QPC is emblematic of his commitment to fostering innovation, driving operational efficiency, and nurturing a culture of excellence.
Angelo Berbotto
AUSIT National President
J. Angelo Berbotto is a solicitor qualified in Australia and England and a NAATI certified translator. As a lawyer, he’s worked mainly in child protection as well as serving as Attorney-General of a BOT and as Assistant Parliamentary Counsel. Angelo translates mainly legal documents. He’s been AUSIT’s National President since November 2022.
Lu Hunter
Storyteller, Translator & Interpreter
Lu Hunter is a storyteller, translator, interpreter and a culture change leader who embraces diversity, equity and inclusion. Lu is passionate about delivering cross-cultural communication solutions and help people make authentic connections across borders. She is a member of IoD and NZSTI, the translator of the book Instant Kiwi written by Rosemary Hepozden, as well as one of the Chinese translators/reviewers of the 'Treaty Times Thirty' Treaty of Waitangi translation project.
Melanie Nelson
Translator, Interpreter, Writer & Cross-cultural Strategic Advisor.
Melanie Nelson is a Pākehā speaker of te reo Māori. She is a freelance translator, interpreter, writer and cross-cultural strategic advisor. Her passion is deepening understanding between cultures and shining a light on the subconscious patterns which drive us. In her spare time she loves tramping, podcasts and growing food.
Dr Wei Tang
Lecturer of Translation/Interpreting Studies & Chinese Language, University of Canterbury
Wei Teng, a NAATI certified interpreter, is a lecturer of translation/interpreting studies and Chinese language at the University of Canterbury. His research focuses primarily on the area of Community Translation/Interpreting, with particular interests in pragmatic equivalence, pragmalinguistic failures, and contrastive analysis within the framework of systemic functional linguistics.
Crystelle Jones
Translator
Crystelle Jones translates Spanish, based in Palmerston North, and has years of experience teaching Spanish, French, ESOL and marking NCEA Spanish. In 2012 as part of an Applied Linguistics masters her research project explored senior secondary MOE language education policy and rates of Year 13 international language learning in New Zealand.
Christof Schneider
Translator
Christof Schneider has been NZSTI Member since 2002, taught at the University of Auckland about tools for translators, had significant input in the development of two CAT tools and was for 16 years a consultant to Lingo24's staff and customers. He is now a full-time translator, based in Ngamotou/New Plymouth. This will be a tailored presentation for this conference and as such is work in progress.
Erwin La Cruz
Training Manager at Interpreting New Zealand
Erwin La Cruz has taught linguistics and interpreting in New Zealand and Venezuela. As a trainer, I integrate theoretical aspects of language and interpreting into a practical hands-on approach to community interpreting. He is a Spanish-English interpreter. Currently, I am the Training Manager at Interpreting New Zealand.
Lisa Davies (Kāi Tahu)
Jazz Musician
Lisa Davies (Kāi Tahu) is a jazz pianist/kaitito based in Ōtautahi. She runs Te Reo Tautito (a waiata translation/community kaupapa) and leads the Māori collective Ngā Reo Tīoriori, staging diverse and immersive concerts and performances in te reo Māori. Lisa is completing her Master of Te Reo Māori at UC.
Dr Francis Yapp
Senior Lecturer in Music, University of Canterbury
Francis Yapp is Senior Lecturer in Music at the University of Canterbury. His research focuses on music in eighteenth-century France and on community music. He is also a cellist, a classically-trained singer, and language learner.
Dr Lucía Alonso González
Interpreter and midwife
Lucía Alonso González is originally from Spain but has been living in Aotearoa for 17 years. She works as a midwife and a Spanish interpreter in the Nelson/Tasman region, so can offer insight from both interpreter and clinician perspectives, plus the experience of women and families accessing health services as clients and patients.
Epperly Zhang
Translator & Social Researcher
Epperly Zhang is a certified NAATI Chinese < > English translator and a social researcher. She is currently studying a PhD at RMIT University. Her research focuses on the issue of trust in interpreting settings. She endeavours to combine theoretical insights and practical application in her research.
Wladimir Padilla
Lecturer in Translation Studies, University of Canterbury
Wladimir Padilla is an experienced cross-cultural advisor and simultaneous interpreter from Santiago, Chile. He’s currently based in Christchurch, where he works as a Lecturer in Translation Studies at the University of Canterbury. Throughout his career, he has been deeply focused on paralinguistic and phonetic elements, recognizing their significance in interpreting.
Despina Amanatidou
Interpreting Manager, 2M Language Services
Despina Amanatidou leads the 2M Interpreting Department and is a NAATI-certified Interpreter and Translator with 11+ years’ experience in the public health sector. Having also served many years organising AUSIT conferences/PD events, Despina has an in-depth understanding of the existing barriers and interpreting solutions needed to support CALD populations.
Dr Antonio Viselli
Programme Co-ordinator - French / Convenor - Translation and Interpreting
Antonio Viselli convenes the French programme as well as postgraduate studies in Translation and Interpreting at the University of Canterbury. His research in Comparative Literature, Intermediality, and Translingualism focuses on interdisciplinary topics in the Humanities in French, English, Italian and Spanish, combining literary studies, translation studies, and musicology. He is the author of Iconoclasm: the Breaking and Making of Images (McGill-Queens UP, 2019) and is Primary Investigator on “Humanitiarian and Ecological Crises: (De)Constructing Minorities and Freedoms” (funded by the Pacific Funds).
Maree O’Regan
Principal Advisor, Commissioning and Service Improvement Team, Ministry of Justice
Maree O’Regan is a Principal Advisor within the Commissioning and Service Improvement team at the Ministry of Justice in Wellington. Maree led the project to develop the new quality framework and implement it from 1 May 2023 across courts and tribunals.
Reuben Lewthwaite
Manager of Centralised Services, Ministry of Justice
Reuben Lewthwaite is the Manager of Centralised Services at the Ministry of Justice. Reuben leads the Wellington-based team that manages all bookings for interpreters across the country. Reuben is also the Justice representative participating in the MBIE led across government language assistance services programme.
Lan Hoang
PhD Student of Translation at Auckland University of Technology
Lan Hoang is currently a PhD Student of Translation at Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand. He has involved in community translation and quality assurance for Vietnamese communities overseas globally for many years. He is also a Chartered Linguist and ATA Standards Committee’s Member and NZSTI Full Member (English-Vietnamese).
Dr Telesia Kalavite
Lecturer, Te Tumu School of Māori, Pacific and Indigenous Studies, University of Otago
Dr Telesia Kalavite is a Tongan translator and interpreter in both English and Tongan languages. She translated Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (2014) and The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery (2018) from English into Tongan. She is contracted by national and international translation and interpreting organisations, and is currently an observer at the New Zealand Society of Translators and Interpreters (NZSTI). She is a lecturer at Te Tumu School of Māori, Pacific and Indigenous Studies at the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand.
Philippa Parker
President, Christchurch Riding for the Disabled
Philippa Parker's younger years were spent growing up in Nigeria ,Israel, Bahamas, Holland and England. She was indeed fortunate to be surrounded by very diverse ways of learning and living. Once settled in New Zealand she was drawn back to working and helping children and adults to reach joy and achievement in their daily lives. Nearly nineteen years ago she joined CRDA as a volunteer, trained as a coach, consistently upskilled in a national training programme for coaches and accepted the role as President.
Anna Guo
Senior Lecturer, Te Pukenga (Unitec) Institute of Skills and Technology
Anna Guo is a Sr Lecturer for MCLI liaison interpreting at Te Pukenga (Unitec) Institute of Skills and Technology. She has been actively involved in the Chinese community as an interpreter and translator and completed nearly 100 assignments in mental health interpreting. She’s also one of the leading translators for The Treaty Times Thirty (2016) into the Chinese version. She’s been a full member of NZSTI in translation (English -Chinese) since 2012.
Ella Addenbrooke
Managing Director, Language Solutions Aotearoa
Ella Addenbrooke is a highly experienced Mandarin interpreter and translator, specialising in medical, legal and business fields. As the Managing Director of Language Solutions Aotearoa, she believes in the positive impact that trained and qualified interpreters bring. Ella has a BA in Interpreting from AUT and has served in the RNZAF.
Michael Nemarich
Manager, National Operations & Deputy CEO, NAATI
Michael Nemarich is the Manager, National Operations and Deputy CEO of NAATI and has been in this role since he joined in 2018. He has spent the last 17 years in management positions in the not-for-profit sector working in businesses that are focused on reducing societal disadvantage, most recently prior to NAATI with First Nations people in Australia. He has formal qualifications in international business, international community development, NFP management, training and assessment, and human resource management and sees language equity through the interpreting and translating professions as critical to thriving and accessible multicultural societies.
Alison McDonald
Project Lead, Interpreter Standards Transition Support, Refugee and Migrant Services MBIE
Alison McDonald is the Project lead for Interpreter Standards Transition Support, in Refugee and Migrant Services. She is managing MBIE Interpreter Standards Transition Support work. Alison has been involved in developing and delivering implementation of the New Zealand interpreter standards and certification effort. She is working closely with NAATI, NZSTI and the five tertiary institutions delivering the interpreter training. Alison has a long history of work across the New Zealand public sector in policy, operations and senior management.
Fiona Whiteridge
General Manager of Refugee and Migrant Services, Immigration New Zealand
Fiona Whiteridge has been the General Manager for Refugee and Migrant Services for Immigration New Zealand for three years. In that role, Fiona is responsible for leading and managing New Zealand’s humanitarian international obligations and commitments to refugees and asylum seekers for New Zealand. She also leads Immigration New Zealand’s Pacific Team that looks after a range of immigration related programmes that work with Pacific countries.
Fiona has been a public servant for over 20 years and prior to working for Immigration New Zealand she worked for the New Zealand Treasury, Kainga Ora (Housing New Zealand) and the Office of the Auditor-General.
Dr Ben Gray
Consultant
Assoc Professor Ben Gray is currently working as a consultant to the Language Assistance Services Standards Team. He worked as a GP at Newtown Union Health Service for 27 years caring for a wide diversity of patients, many of whom did not speak English. NUHS was one of the first practices in the country to employ interpreters. The patients and the interpreters taught him how to work with interpreters. For the last 16 years he has worked in the Primary Health Care and General Practice Department of University of Otago Wellington. One of his research interests was working with interpreters and he conducted several studies in the area. He is an accepted authority on working with interpreters in health care and is the author of the chapter on Working with Interpreters in the Medical Council’s publication “Coles Medical Practice in New Zealand. He convenes the course in Professional Development and Ethics and has a particular interest in Cultural Safety/ Competence and Cross Cultural Ethics.
Jonathan Hopgood
Manager of Refugee and Migrant Services, Immigration New Zealand
Johnathon Hopgood is a seasoned professional with extensive experience in immigration and settlement programs. Currently heading a team overseeing diverse initiatives like Language Assistance Services, and the cross-government refugee resettlement and migrant settlement strategies, he's played a pivotal role in building relationships with settlement locations for refugees. With a decade of service at Immigration New Zealand, he's contributed significantly across roles spanning visa operations, border security, and offshore immigration management. His expertise extends globally, having also worked in both public and private sectors in Europe and the Pacific.
Quintin Ridgeway
Chief Translator & Manager, DIA Translation Service
Quintin Ridgeway is the chief translator and manager of the DIA Translation Service. He was on the council and president of NZSTI for many years and has been involved in the LAS programme since its inception. He is a NAATI certified German translator and has a keen interest in linguistics, language learning and language policy. He holds an executive MBA and a masters degree in translation.
Dr Fahim Afarinasadi
Translation Project Manager, Translation Service, Department of Internal Affairs
Fahim Afarinasadi is a Translation Project Manager at the Translation Service, Department of Internal Affairs. His expertise lies in diplomatic interpreting, localization, and literary translation, specifically in English and Persian. He holds a PhD in Literary Translation Studies from Victoria University of Wellington.
Dr Allira Hanczakowski
Translation Project Manager, Translation Service, Department of Internal Affairs
Allira Hanczakowski joined the Translation Service in early 2021 as a Translation Project Manager. She holds a PhD in Italian Studies from La Trobe University, Melbourne. Her practice-based thesis includes an original translation of the contemporary Italian text La festa dei limoni (2015) by Marco Braico into English
Haley Te Rire
Translation Project Manager, Translation Service, Department of Internal Affairs
Haley Te Rire is a Translation Project Manager at The Translation Service (DIA) and specialises in managing multilingual projects, in particular those involving Te Reo Māori. She is of Ngāti Tūwharetoa ki Kawerau descent. She is a Spanish translator, holds a degree in Spanish and Criminology as well as a Masters in Intercultural Communication and Applied Translation.
Asma Said-Majeed
Translation Service, Department of Internal Affairs
Asma Said-Majeed immigrated to New Zealand in 1994 from Iraq, where she graduated with a BA in Translation and Interpreting from Mustansyria University in Baghdad. She also tutors language and cultural training at Victoria University of Wellington. Her working languages are Arabic and English.
Carolina Cannard
Interpreter & Translator
Carolina Cannard is a French-Greek interpreter and translator (NAATI certified, member of NZSTI and co- founder of SINZ). In July 2022 she launched a petition to advocate for fair pay for interpreters in New Zealand, collecting over 1,550 signatures to date. She lives in New Zealand since 2015, and is currently undertaking a PhD research at AUT exploring the experiences of refugee women with interpreters in New Zealand.
Agustina Marianacci
Translator & Interpreter
Agustina Marianacci is an English-Spanish freelance translator and interpreter from Córdoba, Argentina. She is currently based in Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland), where she works as a linguist, researcher and educator in various settings. She has been a community and conference interpreter since 2018, working on-site and remotely. Her passion for intercultural communication and community development resulted in her joining the NZSTI Auckland branch committee and co-founding Simultaneous Interpreters New Zealand (SiNZ) to help promote and further develop professional interpreting in Aotearoa.
Dr Alejandra González Campanella
Translator & Interpreter
Alejandra González Campanella completed her PhD in Translation Studies as a UoA scholar in 2023. Her doctoral research explored interpreting in refugee contexts under a trauma-inform paradigm. She also holds MA and BA degrees in the field of Translation and Interpreting from Universitàt Autónoma de Barcelona (Spain) and Universidad de la República (Uruguay). A member of the New Zealand Society of Translators & Interpreters (NZSTI), Alejandra has several years of experience as a professional translator and interpreter.
Dr Peter Low
Translator
Peter Low taught French for decades here at UC. By 2000 he was translating and teaching translation studies and even writing learned articles about the interface between translation and music. That resulted in the book Translating Song (Routledge 2017).
Kimberley Wood
Singer
Kimberley Wood is a mezzo-soprano from Christchurch. She holds her LTCL in singing and is also heavily involved in music theatre around Christchurch, where she has musically directed and performed in numerous musicals. Additionally, she is a teacher of singing, music theory, and piano at multiple institutions, including Te Pukenga. She is also a PhD candidate at the University of Canterbury.
Yumeka Hildreth
Singer
Yumeka Hildreth is a voice tutor and current MMus student at UC. As a soloist, she has sung in concerts and cathedrals in NZ and Canada, performing premieres of SOUNZ works, in the Arts Centre Chamber Series, and with the CSO. In July, she attended the Académie Orford Musique in Quebec, Canada.
Matthew Harris
Singer
Matthew Harris is a vocalist, multi-instrumentalist and conductor based in Christchurch. His musical career began at the age of eight as a chorister of the ChristChurch Cathedral Choir under Brian Lew, and has since gone on to perform with groups such as the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra and the Tallis Scholars.
Most recently, Matthew appeared as a soloist with the Christchurch City Choir for their performance of Stainer’s Crucifixion.
Matthew is also currently completing a Master of Music degree at the University of Canterbury, focusing on double bass performance and conducting.