Hi everyone!
First of all, thanks to all the members of the team for another amazing year! It has been so wonderful to work with all of you, and we are very appreciative for all of your hard work and dedication. None of these accomplishments would have been possible without you!
The team has gone through many changes in the last year, and we are so excited to be working with you as co-leads of the Spanish team. We have welcomed several new PMs and linguists on the team over the last several months, and we look forward to continuing our work together in the new year.
This newsletter includes some of our accomplishments in the last year as a team and important updates and opportunities to get more involved. As always, please feel free to reach out to us if you have any questions!
Un abrazo,
Machaela, Valentina, and the RCT Spanish Team
Our Impact in 2024
1,080
Total Cases
1,181
Asylum cases
1,315
Pro bono cases
4,553
Page count
371
Hours of Interpretation
TEAM VICTORIES
In the last year, we have been able to...
Translate letters between a reunited mother and daughter .
Provide in-person support for asylum seekers at their USCIS appointments.
Offer interpretation services for over 20 mental health intakes for newly arrived asylum seekers.
Help 80+ individuals submit translations for their asylum cases.
Provide simultaneous interpretation for 36 different events in order to provide language access for Spanish speakers.
Translate language access materials for expecting mothers, parents enrolling their children in school, climate migrants, newly arrived asylum seekers, and many other groups who face systemic language barriers.
And so much more with your help!
Leadership Team Spotlight
Seren
SEREN
Hi! My name is Seren, and I’m a translator and PM on the Spanish team. I joined Respond as a volunteer linguist in October and started PMing in November, and I’ve really enjoyed my time here so far!
A bit about me – I’m from London, UK, and have a BA in Spanish and Politics and just finished my MA in Conference Interpreting and Translation Studies. My long-term goal is a career in conference interpreting and translation (hopefully in the non-profit sector), and am hoping to get involved in interpreting at Respond this year to work towards that.
I’ve also been working on some team engagement initiatives, so if you would like to get involved in those or have any other questions or ideas, you can always reach me at seren@respondcrisistranslation.org!
JUAN ABREGO
I heard of Respond through the partnership between my Immigrant Rights class at UC Berkeley and Freedom for Immigrants. I decided to sign up and I have greatly enjoyed working with Respond and helping people get one step closer to receiving asylum/refuge. I intend to become an immigration lawyer in the future to continue advocating for immigrant rights!
Linguists Spotlight
Mauricio
MAURICIO
I’m a translator and interpreter focusing on legal translation, human rights, life sciences, and education.
My journey as a translator and interpreter has been a mix of independent, in-house, and volunteer experience across North America. I’ve moved between my native Mexico and Canada, my second home, since I was a young boy, which I think naturally led to me becoming interested in translation and, eventually, the causes and politics of migration. As a child, I began to see how learning other languages opened my mind to new ways of understanding the world and people from backgrounds different from my own. Aside from Spanish and English, I also know a bit of French and Japanese both from self-study and classes I've taken in the past, which I hope to continue getting better at!
I've done most of my work with Respond as a volunteer. It's important to me to support organizations like Respond in helping refugees and immigrants because I know how hard it is to leave your home no matter the circumstances. Given the state of the world today, and the Americas in particular, I want to do my part in making others' journeys a bit more manageable as they settle in a new place. READ MORE
Thank you again for another amazing year together! We are so thankful for your support, and we could not accomplish any of this without you! As always, if you have any ideas for how to make our team even better, please email us at spanish@respondcrisistranslation.org. We always love to hear from you!
Machaela & Valentina
Spanish team co-leads
