Biographical Overview

Credentials Summary:

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• Certified US State Department conference Interpreter

• Almost 20 years of experience as interpreter/translator

• Registered as regional interpreter at the Embassy of Japan in Washington DC

• National Language Service Corps Member 

• JACI member

• ATA member

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Profile

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   Born in Los Angeles, CA and relocated to Japan at the age of six, Risa grew up having the relative sense of comfort and fluency in both cultures and languages. 

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​   In 2005 she was awarded a contractor position at the US State Department, Office of Language Services, which opened up the opportunities in the federal government sphere.

Her passion for linguistics also led her to document translation arena as well. From 2004-2008 Risa had the opportunity to participate in a long-term project in which she translated academic reports on microbiology, with the focus on infectious diseases. This experience has certainly helped Risa to cement her comfort in highly technical materials in science and technology fields.

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​    She has now worked for over 300 clients including various private companies (many of them Fortune 500), government entities, hospitals, law firms, NPOs, and many more.

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    So far Risa has had the privilege to work for the Vice President of the United States,US Secretary of State, current and former Secretaries of Defense, several governors, and numerous congressional members.

 

   No matter what type of clients she works for, there are a few things that she has never compromised in her career: ​

·       Thorough preparation prior to the assignment. Risa makes it a point to receive as much background information as possible before hand. Most cases she spends at least twice the amount of time in preparation than the actual work itself.

·       Work as if she is on the receiving end of her language service by focusing on accuracy, clarity, and fluency.

·       Take genuine interest in the subject matter and the relationship with the clients. This by far has been the most enjoyable part of her job as so many of her clients have shared fascinating stories/info about their fields.

  

 

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