Welcome to our new Board members

This month, ITI's Board of Directors welcomed three new members as they formally began their terms of office at our in-person Board meeting in Milton Keynes. This was the first meeting in which they participated as full directors, having joined the April meeting as observers. (And it was also their first opportunity to enjoy Fiona's delicious cupcakes.)

Jonathan Downie AITI is a conference and church interpreter with 18 years of experience across business negotiations, technical conferences and church services. He completed his PhD in Interpreting at Heriot-Watt University in 2016 and has since been committed to bridging the gap between research and professional practice. Jonathan lives in Edinburgh with his wide and six children and runs two YouTube channels (Inside Interpreting and Multilingual Church) aimed at both the profession and wider audiences.

Jonathan stood for election with a clear purpose: he saw how technology companies have dominated the debate over the future of the languages and interpreting and felt it was time that ITI talked back.

Lena Marg brings more than 20 years of experience in the localisation industry, with expertise in corporate translation buying, machine translation, and the evolving relationship between technology and professional practice. She was appointed to fill a casual vacancy for an Affiliate member director, following an election in which no eligible candidates came forward. 

Lena wants to volunteer her time to an organisation that is making an impact in a field close to her heart and hopes that her knowledge of the localisation industry, corporate translation buyers, and a deep understanding of machine translation from a translator perspective will help her to make a meaningful contribution to the organisation. She comments that wherever we stand on AI, our profession can’t afford to ignore it. Different situations require different translation solutions, but everyone deserves adequate compensation, recognition and respect for the professional services they deliver.

Lucio Bagnulo was co-opted to the Board in April to fill a vacancy for a co-opted director. As Head of Translation and Language Strategy at Amnesty International, he brings a background spanning language, technology and strategy, with a particular focus on how language services enable understanding, access and informed decision-making.

Lucio believes that ITI has a key role to play in guiding and supporting the profession through this challenging time and knows that its strength ultimately lies in its members. He notes that the future of the profession will depend on our shared ability to refine our practices, embrace new approaches with clarity and creativity, and continue demonstrating the value of human expertise in an increasingly complex landscape.

The Board also wishes to record its thanks to Isabelle Perrett, who stood down as a co-opted director at the end of April. Isabelle brought valuable external experience and fresh eyes to the Board's work, and played an important role as a critical friend. The Board is also grateful to Marian Dougan FITI, who came to the end of her six-year term. Marian brought warmth, deep commitment and no shortage of memorable anecdotes, and she will be greatly missed.

Fiona Gray MITI, Chair of the Board said:

"It has been a real pleasure to welcome Jonathan, Lena and Lucio to the Board. Each of them brings a different perspective at a time when the profession is navigating genuinely significant change. At the same time, we say a warm farewell to Isabelle and Marian, both of whom made a real difference during their time on the Board. I am looking forward to working with our new directors, and to the energy and expertise they bring to ITI's governance."