Tim has worked in the localization and translation industry for the last 27 years. He has held positions from translator/interpreter to company owner of an LSP. His early career was spent supervising translation worldwide for a non-profit organization in over 85 languages. He selected, organized, and trained translation teams in over 60 countries on 4 continents. In this capacity he became familiar with over 40 different writing systems and the grammatical structure of over 80 languages.

He also served for 14 years in U.S. Military Intelligence as a Chinese and Vietnamese Linguist. During his military career he developed the U.S. Army's 97L Translator/Interpreter training course, creating a new military occupational specialty. He then taught the instructor's course at the Defense Language Institute.

He received a BA in Asian Studies from Brigham Young University, studied Linguistics at the Masters level and received an MBA from the University of Utah. He also worked as an adjunct professor at the university level for three years.

He is currently the founder and CEO of Lingotek, a free online translation memory and project management tool for translators and LSPs.

My passion is translation. After 27 years of working in dozens of countries worldwide, I have come to love the people who tirelessly strive to bridge the language barrier. Ours is a profession where it takes many more years than a college degree can offer to become a real artist. Translation is both science and art, but the great ones know how to coin a phrase, express an idea, and turn a mind and heart with their words in ways that are truly artistic. We do it because we love it.

Our industry needs fine organizations like GALA and others to wake up the world to the value of translation and localization. We must unite as service providers and push for the recognition we deserve. As a united voice we can be heard. GALA has made tremendous strides for our industry, and the current and former board members have served admirably and deserve our thanks. It is their willingness to sacrifice and vision to serve for which I am grateful. I would be honored to follow in their footsteps and serve in whatever capacity my peers deem appropriate.