Harvie Jordan Scholarship

Gabriela Escarrá is the recipient of the 2022 Harvie Jordan Scholarship in recognition for her enthusiasm and bold leadership amongst her peers. The American Foundation for Translation and Interpretation offers this award to promote, encourage, and support leadership and professional development within the ATA Spanish Language Division (SPD).

Gabriela’s enthusiasm and bold leadership has gained recognition amongst her peers. She is always willing to go the extra mile to ensure that the SPD activities are carried out with the outmost professionalism. Gaby has led the SPD Professional Development Committee for two years, and during her tenure the SPD presented more than six webinars and workshops in collaboration with the ATA Webinars Series. She led the efforts to the first SPD Instagram Live interview, and the first SPD member-exclusive webinar. She is constantly collaborating with other committees like social media, SPD Podcast, Editorial Committee, and others. For the endless volunteer-hours, her professionalism, teamwork mentality, enthusiasm and leadership, the SPD is thrilled to award the Harvie Jordan Scholarship to Gabriela Escarrá.

Gabriela Escarrá is the current SPD Professional Development Committee Chair and the incoming SPD Assistant Administrator (2022-2024). She has been an active member of the SPD Leadership Council since 2018. She has served on several SPD committees including Podcast and Student Involvement. Gaby has also helped in the organizing of SPD activities during ATA Conferences. She is a certified sworn translator in Argentina. She specializes in marketing and corporate communication. She has been lecturing on quality standards and post-editing in Europe, the U.S., and South America.

Yolanda Secos, the newly elected assistant administrator of ATA’s Spanish Language Division (SPD), is the recipient of the 2016 Harvie Jordan Scholarship. The American Foundation for Translation and Interpretation offers this award to promote, encourage, and support leadership and professional development within the ATA Spanish Language Division.

Yolanda served as the editor of Intercambios, SPD’s newsletter, from 2015–2016, and as chair of the division’s Social Media Committee from 2012–2016. She is currently a member of ATA’s Membership Committee and the president of the Association of Translators and Interpreters in the San Diego Area.

Yolanda has worked as an English>Spanish freelance translator, editor, and proofreader specializing in education since 2006. She received her certification in translation and interpreting (English/Spanish) from the University of California, San Diego in 2008. She has a B.A. in English philology and education from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain. She also has an A.S. degree in nursing and an A.A. degree in early childhood development, both from the Colegio Besana, Madrid. She worked as a foreign language teacher in Spain and England from 1995–1999. From 1999–2006, she worked as a bilingual educator, translator, and interpreter in Texas for the Fort Worth Independent School District, as part of the Visiting Teachers from Spain program. A native of Madrid, Spain, Yolanda lives in San Diego with her husband and two children.

Rosario Charo Welle is the recipient of the 2014 Harvie Jordan Scholarship.The American Foundation for Translation and Interpretation offers this award to promote, encourage, and support leadership and professional development within the ATA Spanish Language Division.

Rosario is ATA Spanish Division Administrator and an English-Spanish translator with more than 20 years of experience translating in the fields of education, marketing, public media and communications, and health care. A full interview can be read here.

Francesca Samuel, an ATA active member and English<>Spanish translator and interpreter, is the recipient of the 2012 Harvie Jordan Scholarship. The American Foundation for Translation and Interpretation offers this award to promote, encourage, and support leadership and professional development within the ATA Spanish Language Division.

Francesca is a freelance interpreter and translator in Tucson, Arizona. In 2000, she founded A La Carte Translation Services, a web-based translation business. She has 15 years of experience working with a national language services company that supports proceedings related to immigration.

Francesca was recently elected administrator of ATA’s Spanish Language Division (SPD). She has been a member of ATA and SPD since 1998. In 2002, Francesca was elected SPD treasurer. She was elected assistant administrator of the division in 2004, serving three consecutive terms (2004-2010). In 2012, she served as chair of the SPD/Interpreters Division Mid-Year Conference Planning Committee.

In addition to ATA, Francesca is a member of the National Association of Judiciary Interpreters and Translators. She is also a member of the Pima Community College (Tucson, Arizona) Translation Studies Advisory Committee, and continues to spread the word about the industry to students of all ages with the assistance of ATA’s School Outreach Program. She was recently appointed vice-president of Arizona Translators and Interpreters, Inc., an organization that provides educational resources to translators and interpreters in Arizona.