For impact that’s international.
a sea change
change in a situation.
can’t be made unless we all
work together.
It will take governments, corporations, civil society and individual action to tackle the climate emergency, regenerate the Earth and provide a fair, healthy future for everyone and everything that calls our planet home.
We need people all over the globe to collaborate and communicate to make positive change happen. As an ethical translator, that’s where I come in.
At just 11, my French teacher told me I had a “gift for languages”. With my school days behind me, that led me to a six-month voluntary placement in Mexico and an undergraduate degree in French and Spanish with time spent living in Lille and Bilbao. I followed that up with an MA in Applied Translation and an internship at the United Nations in Vienna, giving me an insight into how international organisations operate. Next followed three years as an in-house project manager and then over a decade working as a freelance French and Spanish to English translator for agencies and direct clients. But that’s only half the story. To really understand where Sea Change came from, we need to travel back a little further, to my childhood dream of becoming a marine biologist.
Sea Change intertwines a love of languages with a passion for the planet we all call home.
I dreamt of spending my days studying the world under the sea or working for Greenpeace or the WWF. All I wanted to do was play a part in changing things for the better. As I got older, I convinced myself that science wasn’t my strong point. I found languages both easy and exciting, so that was the path I took. I could write all day about why I think language learning and cross-cultural communication are so important. But also about how and why I now want to use my skills and experience to help my clients bring about positive change. Read more about how I circled back to my eco warrior roots and started focusing on translation for sustainability professionals, partly thanks to becoming a mother, in this blog post.
I passionately believe in the power of words as a force for good. I also care about the purpose of the words I translate.
My dream as an ethical translator is to convey the messages and ideas of the world’s changemakers.
What does that mean in practice?
Ethics and sustainability
It means that, as a sustainability specialist, I actively seek out clients striving to solve the world’s social and environmental injustices.
I also place ethics at the heart of my interactions with my fellow freelancers.
I’m careful to make sure everyone is treated fairly whenever I outsource to colleagues.
Collaboration
It means I believe that working together is always better.
I help my clients work in multilingual teams to reach their goals and build bridges between different cultures.
I’ll always listen carefully, never judge and always offer gentle and thoughtful guidance, advice and support.
I work with other linguists for changemakers who share my values and have the expertise and experience necessary to support my clients.
My Impact
As businesses operating in the world of sustainability, we have to practice what we preach. Here are just a few of the ways I make sure my business is having a positive impact:
Environmental responsibility
- Refurbed/preloved equipment
- Renewable energy supplier
- Smart, minimal use of energy and paper
- All paper and print cartridges recycled
- No daily commute
- Carbon offsetting
- Support for a local tree planting organization
- Member of a local environmental group
- Sharing wins and lessons learned with fellow small business owners to support them on their journeys
- #TackleTheCrisis ambassador
Social responsibility
- Occasional voluntary translation for TWB, Kiva and Médecins du Monde
- 10% discount for not-for-profits
- Two pro bono projects per year
- Yearly donations to a non-environmental charity
- Part time teaching of Spanish to English translation to give back to the industry and help emerging translators
Ready to start making a difference together?