Translation | Interpretation | Teaching | Proofreading | Editing | Voice-overs | Sub-titling

Born in Vancouver, Canada, I have a Bachelor's Degree in French and Spanish from the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC and a Master of Arts in Translation from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, California. As part of my degree courses, I also studied in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada; Valencia and Madrid, Spain; and Geneva, Switzerland.

My professional and linguistic career began in Belgium at the European Union in Brussels and then at the International Encyclopaedia of Laws in Leuven for a combined total of six years. After teaching college-level French for a few months back in Vancouver, I left for Hong Kong where I worked at the headquarters of a multinational timber company for eight years, and gained experience in purchasing and sales, as well as translation and interpretation for business purposes. After returning to Vancouver briefly once again, in order to obtain certification in, among other things, Microsoft Office Suite, Web Publishing, Photography and Small Business Management, I departed again on a new adventure, working in the Caribbean as International Ambassador for an American cruise line, using my languages for tourism purposes.

In September 2005, I opened my own consultancy company in Vancouver, ACFairbank Consulting. Although it has evolved and changed over the years with regard to the kinds of services I provide, I am currently offering translation, interpreting, editing, writing, proofreading, sales and marketing services to international clients.

In a constant endeavour to increase my skills and provide better and more complete services to my clients, I actively look for opportunities to continue my professional development. During the past few years, I have completed certificates in Professional Sales and Digital Film Production.

Here are some more recent accomplishments:

2016: I became qualified in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages/Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TESOL/TEFL) and spent an academic year living in Sicily and Rome, Italy, teaching English to Italians, all while continuing my other business activities remotely.

2017: I was added to the roster of freelance French to English and Spanish to English translators at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in Rome, Italy. I also updated my translation skills at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KUL) in Antwerp, Belgium by taking an advanced Computer-Assisted Translation (CAT) tools course and gained experience using MateCAT, SDL Trados Studio 2017, Memsource and memoQ. I became an Associate member of both the Society of Translators and Interpreters of British Columbia (STIBC) and the American Translators Association (ATA), as well as an approved French/English and Spanish/English translator and interpreter for the Insurance Corporation of British Colombia (ICBC).

2018 was a banner year and included the following achievements:

• January: I was added to the roster of freelance English Editors at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA or ECA) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
• February: I attended a two-day seminar entitled “Understanding Marketing and Negotiating for Interpreters,” presented by the International Association for Conference Interpreters (AIIC) in Washington D.C., USA and learned how to improve my self-marketing skills.
• March: I completed the on-line Health Care Interpreter Training Program with the Provincial Health Services Authority of British Columbia, Canada and started working as one of their freelance healthcare interpreters.
• May: I wrote a certification exam for the Canadian Translators, Terminologists and Interpreters Council (CTTIC) in Spanish to English, passed and am now permitted to use the title of Certified Translator (CT).
• June: I was voted in as a Financial Committee member at the STIBC's AGM.
• September: My article “Now that I'm a STIBC Associate Member, How do I Get Work?” was published in the STIBC Voice, a quarterly newsletter of the Association. I also co-present orientation workshops for new Associate Members and newly Certified Members of the STIBC in September and November.
• October: I completed an on-line course provided by the Provincial Health Services Authority: “Integrating a Palliative Approach by Having Conversations Early (IPACE).” I also attended the ATA annual conference in New Orleans, USA and wrote the ATA certification exams from French to English. I was informed in December that I passed, so I am now an ATA-Certified Translator as well!
• November: I took a 30-hour on-line course with the Interpreter's Lab called “Interpreting in Legal Settings - Theory.”

What's next? Well, I have some articles about translation and interpreting in the pipeline. My report on the ATA conference in October 2018 was published in the STIBC Voice in January 2019 and more of my articles are slated to be published in other editions of this quarterly newsletter later this year, including a series of international interviews that I initiated. In January 2019, I also took on the voluntary job of Treasurer for the Society of Translators and Interpreters of British Columbia's Board of Directors.

In summary, I am a/an:

I also donate my time and skills as a voluntary translator for: