Terry Vojdani - Translator in Australia

Letter of Reference from Charis Barks
Spanish - English Translator and Interpreter
VPO Servicios Bilingües in Santa Cruz, Bolivia

Terry Vojdani, an American-born (native English-speaking) Spanish and English translator and interpreter, lived and worked in Bolivia for many years prior to moving to Australia in 2004, where she continues to provide these services. Her customers in Bolivia "know a good thing" and continue to send her their documents even though she no longer lives here and are willing to work around time zone differences in order to give her preference over local translators. That says a lot about who she is, how she works, and the confidence her work inspires.

I was privileged to work with Terry on many translations and consider her the best translator I have met to date. Her translations are very nearly perfect in both languages and require very little revision. Work is always turned in on time. When we work together on translation projects she always dedicates to my customers the same attention, effort and consideration she gives to her own; therefore, they are happy to work with either of us in the absence of one.

Now, even though we live thousands of miles apart, we continue to work and collaborate on translation projects, vocabulary and other general translation issues. The subject lines of our emails frequently read "Pick your brain?" as we help each other out with grammar or vocabulary. I am happy to serve as a reference for Terry. I have complete confidence in her abilities and I truly respect her professionalism.

When I work with Terry I invariably learn something new. Please send me an email for more about Terry or for information on translations in Bolivia. Charis Barks - VPO

Terry Vojdani - Curriculum Vitae

MEMBERSHIPS/APPOINTMENTS:

Ex-member of the Bolivian Association of Interpreters
Ex-member of the Board of Directors of the Bolivian Association of Interpreters
Co-founder of EDEFA, an association for family education and development
Ex-member of EDEFA’s Board of Directors
One of the first Oral Examiners appointed by the University of Cambridge for its First Certificate in English and Advanced Certificate in English examinations in Santa Cruz, Bolivia
Listed on the translators/interpreters list for the U.S. Consular Agency in Santa Cruz, Bolivia
Listed on the translators/interpreters list for the U.S. Embassy in La Paz, Bolivia

TRANSLATIONS:

In my years as a translator from Spanish to English and vice versa, I have translated many kinds of documents and papers, a few of which are summarized below:

Legal:
Service, Rental, Purchase-Sale Contracts and Agreements; International Bid Contracts, General Terms and Conditions, Technical Specifications; Laws, Supreme Decrees, Ministerial/Administrative Resolutions, regulations for the same; Powers-of-attorney

Personal Documents:
ID Cards, Passports; Birth, Death, Marriage, Baptism certificates; Divorce Sentences; Adoption Papers; Police Records

Oil and Gas:
Gas/oil exploration and exploitation contracts; Seismic data acquisition service contracts; articles and editorial for “Oil & Gas” a bi-monthly magazine put out by the Bolivian Chamber of Hydrocarbons; Aircraft fuelling industry accident/incident reports; training manuals

Corporate:
Statutes of Incorporation; By-laws; Manuals on Procedures and Policies; Plans, general reports; projects; Annual Reports; presentations for courses/Board meetings

Environment:
Reports; Environmental Impact Assessments; Plans and projects for National Parks and Protected Areas; HSE procedures, policies and environmental protection elements/equipment for ISO 9000 certification

Health:
Periodic reports for a National Pharmaceutical project; project proposal on teen health

Education:
Grade School and Secondary School report cards; University Grade Transcripts; Study Programs, minimum contents of subjects; Diplomas, degrees

Electricity:
Generation/distribution/sales

Agriculture:
MSDS and/or brochures for different insecticides, pesticides, and herbicides; Seed industry

Accounting/Banking:
Letters of Credit; Imports/Exports; Accounts

Books:
Dr. Muhájir: Hand of the Cause of God, by Irán Muhájir, published in Chile
Weaving in Bolivia, by Kathy Barth, published in Bolivia
Pokka’s Stories, stories for children, published by EBILA, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Guidelines for Marriage, by Margaret Ruhe, published by Núr University, Santa Cruz, Bolivia
Day Book, Bahá’í quotations for daily readings, EBILA, Buenos Aires, Argentina (not published yet)
Beginnings of the Bahá’í Faith, published by EBILA, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Grammar Corrections/Proof-reading:

12 modules on Moral Leadership written by Eloy Anello and/or Juanita Hernandez, Núr University, Santa Cruz, Bolivia
16 modules on Human Capacities written by Eloy Anello and Fritz Affolter
Victory and Crisis, published by EBILA, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Documents written and/or translated by other people, including university theses, letters, reports, talks, etc.

INTERPRETATION:

Over the years I have done consecutive/simultaneous interpretation from Spanish to English and vice versa, and at times from Portuguese to English and/or Spanish at many local, national, regional and international conferences, congresses, symposiums, summits, courses and other types of gatherings on such diverse topics as:

Drug enforcement
Drug trafficking
Wildlife trafficking
CARE’s BABIES project
Energy: electricity, gas, oil, Open Access to Gas/Oil transportation
Cement
Corn/cotton growing
Superpave (pavement)
Odontology
Civil Aeronautics
Peace-keeping exercises
Emergency administrative drills for oil companies
Customs
Oil/gas well-control/overhaul/drilling
Municipal planning
Positive Psychotherapy

Board of Directors Meetings:

For several years I interpreted at Board meetings for oil/gas exploration and exploitation companies; oil/gas transportation companies; power generation company; airport management company; and once for the International Red Cross when it held its Board meeting in Santa Cruz, Bolivia.

Companies & Institutions:

Some of the well-known companies and institutions I have translated/interpreted for over these years, either through direct contracting or sub-contracting, are:

World Bank
Inter-American Development Bank
Organization of American States
U.S. Embassy, La Paz, Bolivia
ICAO – International Civil Aviation Organization
U.S. Armed Forces Southern Command
University of Toronto (Canada)
Bolivia’s Chancellor’s Office
Superintendence of Banks (Bolivia)
Superintendence of Hydrocarbons (Bolivia)
Superintendence of Electricity (Bolivia)
Drug Enforcement Agency of the U.S. in Bolivia
Air BP Bolivia S.A.
Veritas DGC Land (Bolivia – Peru)
South American Exploration (Peru)
Friends of Nature Foundation (Bolivia)
CARE Bolivia
The Nature Conservancy (Bolivia)
BASF (Bolivia)
Cyanamid (Bolivia)
MI Swaco
Empresa Petrolera Chaco S.A.
Núr University (Bolivia)
Rural Electrification Cooperative (Bolivia)

English Teacher:

Some of the places where I taught English (at all levels) are:

Centro Electrónico de Inglés, Medellin, Colombia
Colegio Nstra. Sra. Del Rosario, Bucaramanga, Colombia
Colegio Panamericano, Bucaramanga, Colombia
Centro Colombo-Americano, Bucaramanga, Colombia
Catholic University of Salta, Salta, Argentina
Communicating Language Circle, Rosario, Argentina
Núr University, Santa Cruz, Bolivia

Writer:

Co-author, with June Meese, of a workshop in Spanish and English called “Bahá’í Administration: What it is and how it works”, Santa Cruz, Bolivia

Co-author, with June Meese, of a workshop in Spanish and English called “Spiritual Education for Children”, Santa Cruz, Bolivia

Co-author, with June Meese, of “Meet the Sims’”, a biography of Ellen and Stuart Sims

Bahá’í Activities:

During my life as a Bahá’í, I have at one time or another been a member, usually the correspondence and/or recording secretary, of the following administrative institutions for which I translated numerous letters, articles, talks, etc.:

National Youth Committee of Colombia
Local Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Bogota (Colombia)
Assistant to National Secretary (Bogota, Colombia)
Regional Teaching Committee for Oruro and Potosi (Bolivia)
Teaching and Consolidation Committee for Argentina
Women’s and Children’s Committee for Argentina
Proclamation Committee for Argentina
Local Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Rosario (Argentina)
Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Argentina
Assistant to National Secretary (Asuncion, Paraguay)
National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Paraguay
Local Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Asuncion (Paraguay)
International Teaching Committee for the Three Frontiers (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay)
National Pioneer Committee for Bolivia
First Institute Board of Directors (Bolivia)
Feast Committee for Zone 2 (Santa Cruz, Bolivia)
Local Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Santa Cruz (Bolivia)

Interpretations:

I have interpreted for many well-known Bahá’ís in different places when they gave their talks and I was the head interpreter at the International Uniting the Americas Conference held in Buenos Aires, Argentina to commemorate the 50th year of May Maxwell’s passing.

Other Bahá’í Activities:

Representative for Paraguay at the First International Women’s Conference, Lima, Peru
Member of the Argentine delegation to the Second International Women’s Conference and one of the speakers on the panel, Brasilia, Brazil
Member of the Bolivian delegation at the Inauguration of the Terraces, Haifa, Israel
Prepared the national Bahá’í news bulletin for Argentina for several years; the local Bahá’í news bulletin (with June Meese) for Santa Cruz, Bolivia for two years; helped the National Secretary in Paraguay to prepare the Newsletter for the Feasts during the year I was his assistant.
Have taken the Ruhi Institute course, with the exception of books 3b and 5.
Taught children’s, junior youth and youth classes, always giving “added value” by adding material about Bahá’í history, administration, teachings and encouraging them to memorize prayers and Hidden Words.

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