Board Members

Current AALC President Tea C. Dietterich is CEO of 2M Language Services and a NAATI Advanced Translator and Interpreter in her own right. Tea holds degrees in Translation, Interpreting, Linguistics and Cultural Studies for Spanish, English, German and French from the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (FASK Germersheim) and University of Granada (EUTI).

Recruited by the German Australian Chamber of Industry Commerce in Sydney, Tea came to Australia in 1997 and founded MMLM (today known as 2M Language Services) in 1999. In 2000 Tea established an Indigenous Language Interpreting Service, the “Kimberley Interpreting Service (KIS)” in WA that provides NAATI accredited interpreters in indigenous languages, and was instrumental in promoting the rights of Aboriginal people to the services of interpreters.

Today Tea operates out of the 2M Head Office in Brisbane and the 2M Europe office in Paris. She is the former Chairperson of the Australian Institute for Translators & Interpreters (AUSIT) QLD, former AUSIT National Vice President and sits currently on the NAATI RAC (NAATI Regional Advisory Council) as well as the NAATI TRAC Technical Reference Advisory Committee. This Committee advises the NAATI Board and Government on Language Policy issues, industry developments and the new NAATI Certification Transition. Tea is also Board Director of GALA, The Globalisation and Localisation Association of which AALC is a partner organisation. Further Board appointments include ABIE France (Australian Business in France) and the QLD Chapter of the German Australian Chamber of Industry and Commerce.

To stay abreast of latest language technology developments, Tea attends regularly international industry conferences including GALA, Localization World, Tekom/TCWorld, NTIF, EUATC and ELIA ND conferences.

Tea is a regular guest speaker at FECCA and other industry conferences as well as export & international trade events and serves on several other boards including ABIE France (Australian Business in Europe), The Rosetta Foundation and the QLD Chapter of the German Australian Chamber of Industry and Commerce.

Patricia Jaworski is the Director for All About Languages Pty Ltd, one of the core providers with the Tasmanian Health Service in Tasmania covering the major Hospitals and other community services as well as holding a tender with the Department of Human Services Australia. Patricia leads a team of loyal and highly professional translators and interpreters that are certified with the National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters (NAATI) and/or tested against All About Languages’ (AAL) professional standards.

Patricia’s late mother Alice founded All About Languages in 2003, and Patricia took over the role of Director in 2017. Patricia holds the same determination and passion as her late mother and is dedicated to the growth and success of AAL.

All About Languages’ aim is to provide services of the highest professional standard to non-English speakers and prove that despite the technology and growing accuracy of machine translation, humans are tremendously more valuable when their professionalism includes empathy, which is one of Patricia’s and All About Languages’ pre-requisite to join the team. In addition to interpreting and translating, All About Languages’ services also include training and multi-cultural consulting and tourism.

Patricia holds a Bachelor of Health Science from Flinders University in Adelaide and has experience in various roles within the health care industry. Patricia has been described to be a transparent and communicative provider with outstanding leadership. Priding herself on her passion for improving the standard of interpreting through her participation in industry organisations, her commitment to the industry and her staff is further demonstrated by presenting within educational workshops aimed at improving the quality of healthcare interpreting.

A background in marketing and advertising and an involvement within a family run translation business in the early 1990s fostered Hagen Issell’s passion for multilingual marketing and technical communications.

This path led to the role of Marketing Director at NZTC International, the largest technical translation provider in Australasia. The global customer base and scale of work at NZTC International has allowed Hagen to be involved in the implementation of translation solutions for many industries and markets around the world.

Hagen has particular experience dealing with specialist industries, including the life sciences, mining and IT sectors and is closely involved in the field of technical communications and the systems and processes needed to deliver content effectively to global users in multiple languages.

Being involved in NZTC’s Australian service division, AETS Translation, allows Hagen to spend similar time in Australia and New Zealand, providing the opportunity to foster greater links between language companies on both sides of the Tasman.

Hagen also consults on translation and localisation technology, including SDL Trados Technologies, the industry’s most popular suite of CAT tools, for which NZTC and AETS are the official reseller for Australasia.

Costa Vasili is the founder and CEO of Ethnolink — a translation company on a mission to connect Australia through language. Costa is a second-generation Australian and grew up hearing stories from his dad about the challenges he faced when he migrated to Australia at the age of thirteen. Inspired by his dad’s struggles, Costa embarked on a mission ten years ago to help improve the lives of migrants by providing high-quality translation services to the government and not-for-profit sectors. Costa is an established thought leader in language technology and CALD communications in Australia and is frequently asked to advise Government clients on CALD communications strategy. With over ten years of experience in the language services industry, Costa oversees complex multilingual translation projects for Government and private clients. Costa has been pivotal in the development of Ethnolink’s world-class approach to the project management of multilingual translation projects. Prior to establishing Ethnolink, Costa worked at IBM, project managing and consulting to clients including ASX listed clients, Australian Government Departments and clients in the finance sector in Asia.

Sonia is the Founder and Director of Sylaba Translations, a translation company based in Melbourne. With a focus on plain language, accessibility and cultural appropriateness, Sylaba specialises in delivering high quality translations to the government, community and business sectors. Sonia’s approach to translation reflects her 7 years of education in translation and interpreting studies. She has a Bachelor’s degree and a Master’s degree in Translations and New Technologies from the University of Granada, Spain. She is also a NAATI-certified translator Spanish<>English and a sworn translator appointed by the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation.

Mark is the founder and CEO of LEXIGO. With his passion for technology, business and globalization — Mark is responsible for realising LEXIGO’s vision and strategic development of LEXIGO technologies, with a particular interest in translation process automation, machine learning and multicultural marketing.

During his career, he has undertaken a broad range of roles including Management, Marketing and more specifically Multicultural Marketing, Technology and Localization. His experience in a diverse range of fields gives LEXIGO a dynamic and fresh approach to the delivery of its products and services.

Peter McLellan is the CEO of Interpreting NZ, bringing extensive leadership experience and a passion for bridging language gaps across New Zealand. With a commitment to quality interpreting, growth, and technological innovation, Peter drives the organization’s mission to remove language barriers in Aotearoa New Zealand by delivering accessible, accurate, and culturally sensitive interpreting services. His strategic vision focuses on expanding interpreting solutions to meet diverse community needs and integrating cutting-edge technology to enhance service delivery. As a seasoned executive, Peter is dedicated to fostering inclusive communication and empowering New Zealand’s multicultural landscape.

Karen Hodgson is the CEO of Translationz Pty Ltd, a premier source for professional translation and interpreting services worldwide. Karen heads a talented team of linguists utilising best-in-class technology to deliver exceptional translation and interpreting services (T&I) to companies of all sizes.

Translationz provides T&I services to both public and private organisations globally. Interpreting services is a key offering with face-to-face interpreting, telephone (OPI) and video remote interpreting (VRI), scheduled and on-demand phone and on-demand video interpreting. As a recipient of several Australian government awards Translationz has experienced exponential growth in the past two years.

Karen holds a Bachelor of Finance degree from DePaul University in Chicago and has been an entrepreneur of several successful businesses in education and technology field. Karen spends the majority of her time in Australia with frequent industry conference attendance and business engagements in North America, Europe and Asia

Emiliano Zucchi is currently the Chief Executive Officer at VITS LanguageLoop. Prior to working at Language Loop, he was the CEO of the Ethnic Communities’ Council of Victoria (ECCV). In the past he worked as the Director of the Transcultural & Language Services (TALS) department and the Narrun Wilip-giin Aboriginal Support Unit (ASU) at Northern Health.

Emiliano has 10 years’ experience as a university lecturer, and holds the position of Adjunct Research Fellow in the School of Languages, Literature, Cultures & Linguistics at Monash University. His research focuses on cultural competence in the health context, and specifically on the impact cultural competence has on the health outcomes of patients with limited English proficiency.

Emiliano sits on the Multicultural Arts Victoria (MAV), and the Australasian Association of Language Companies (AALC) boards.

Since 1990, Ismail has driven the vision and direction of All Graduates Interpreting & Translating, as founder and CEO, from a kitchen table business to a significant company providing services in over 150 languages across Australia and New Zealand, to support the communication requirements of an increasingly diverse community. All Graduates is built on a sustainable business model with quality at its core, and is built on robust governance processes. He has introduced quality accreditation processes including in relation to ISO27001 (information systems security) and ISO17100 (language translation).

He has been a member of professional committees (NAATI – Technical Reference and Regional Advisory Committees, Multicultural NSW Language Services Forum and Standards Australia Working Party) and has actively contributed to sector leadership and direction, working with a wide range of stakeholders and within regulatory parameters to build professionalism across the T & I industry.

Ismail’ is the CEO of a group of companies include NEXPD Training, Conversations – Education, Find a Translation search portal, and overseas All Graduates operations on a national provider panel for the New Zealand government, gaining insight into NZ interpreting practices and conversely supporting their adoption of the NAATI Certification system.

Ismail is a NAATI Certified Interpreter and hold a Bachelor Arts (Interpreting& Translating).