Volunteer with GALA

Get involved. Make a difference. Be a volunteer.

Volunteering with GALA enables you to develop as a leader, build your professional network, and sharpen your collaboration skills. Simultaneously, it provides critical support to GALA in high-impact areas and extends the association’s resources.

GALA offers a variety of ways for our members to get involved, from short-term focus groups to strategic leadership. We are seeking volunteers for following programs:

Rising Star Scholarship Committee
GALA Rebranding Focus Group
Membership Models Focus Group
Business Barometer Task Force: People Operations
Business Barometer Task Force: Economic Indicators

Applications are open 27 May - 10 June 2025. Volunteering is open to GALA members.

Volunteer applications are now closed.

Open Volunteer Positions

Rising Star Scholarship Committee

The Rising Star Scholarship awards registration and travel to GALA's annual conference to two students. The Committee develops the theme and selection criteria for the scholarship, reviews all qualified applications, selects the winners, and participates in announcing and celebrating the winners (examples: livestreamed interviews, showcase at annual conference). This is a great opportunity for anyone interested in supporting and giving back to up-and-coming industry talent.

Commitment: 3-4 meetings plus submissions review (hours dependent on number of submissions) scheduled August - February, plus winner promotion in March.

Focus Groups

Commitment: These focus groups will meet 3-4 times between July and September, 2025. Approximately 5-6 hours total. Attendance at each meeting is recommended but not required.

GALA Rebranding Focus Group

As we get closer to our quarter century birthday (in 2027), we recognize that what got us here won’t get us there. It’s time to explore the ways that rebranding can support GALA’s mission and help it reach new audiences that would be great additions to our community. All are welcome, especially those with experience in these disciplines. We discuss various elements of association branding and brand identity. All are welcome, especially stakeholders from enterprises and universities.

Membership Models Focus Group

GALA was originally established as a trade organization comprised of organizational members. With the changing landscape of the profession, it’s time to consider whether an individual membership might be worthwhile. We will explore different membership models and their related costs and benefits.

Business Barometer Task Forces

Tasks include survey development and question review, task force survey finalization, survey data review, report feedback, and presenting and promoting the final barometer report. Commitment: ~5 hours, including two 1-hour meetings.

The People Operations Task Force focuses on areas like jobs, talent, compensation, and diversity. This task force is well-suited for people with experience in hiring, training, HR, or similar background. Time frame: June - September 2025.

The Economic Indicators Task Force focuses on areas like business performance, financials, translation rates, vendor relationships. This task force is well-suited for people who have intimate knowledge of their companies’ operations and metrics. Time frame: August - November 2025.

Learn more about the volunteer positions goals and time commitments below.

Opportunity	Description	Term
Member Programs Committee	The Member Programs Committee provides guidance on the programs, events, and services that GALA delivers to its members. This encompasses content, SIGs, conferences, events, and more. Time commitment: 2-5 hours/month.	1 year (max 3)
Conference Program Committee	The Conference Program Committee develops the conference theme and call for proposals. It reviews and selects proposals for GALA's annual conference. Committee members also act as on-site session moderators. There are several virtual meetings and several hours worth of asynchronous work in the last few months of the year.	~9 months
Rising Star Scholarship Committee	The Rising Star Scholarship Committee develops the theme and rubric for the Rising Star Scholarship contest, which awards registration and a travel stipend to GALA's annual conference to two individuals enrolled in or leading translation, interpreting, or localization programs. Engagement: 3-4 meetings plus submissions review.	~5 months
SIG Leadership	SIG moderators develop goals and programming for GALA's special interest groups. Leaders organize, plan, and moderate meetings and manage working groups, if applicable. Time commitment: 2-5 hours/month.	1 year
GALA Board of Directors	The GALA Board sets the strategic direction of the association and provides oversight and stewardship of GALA's operations and resources. It also represents the diverse interests of GALA's stakeholders in decision making. Review the Board FAQ to learn more.	2 years (max 4)
Focus Groups	Focus groups help GALA make strategic changes with member input. Focus groups are ad hoc and may focus on a diverse range of topics, from member benefits and dues to website UX to member programs.	Duration of group
Barometer Task Forces	GALA's Business Barometers provide industry benchmarking data on operations and trends. Each task force is composed of subject matter experts to provide guidance and feedback on relevant data, survey question design, and data analysis. Engagement: ~5 hours.	Duration of group

There are a limited number of volunteer roles and placement is not guaranteed. In accordance with our Committee Policies and Procedures, applicants will be considered only if the organization which they represent has been a GALA member for two consecutive years or more. Please refer to the Committee Policies and Procedures document for more details about each committee

New volunteers will be required to attend (or view) a volunteer orientation session in order to serve. They will also be required to complete the GALA Volunteer Service Commitment Form. Operational committee terms last for one year, with an option to renew service for a total of three years of service. Ad hoc committees are short term and members serve just once. GALA members may only serve on one volunteer group at at time. GALA does not reimburse committee or SIG leaders for travel, but will apply discounts to registrations. Meetings are held virtually.

Each special interest group (SIG) has a team of moderators to manage the SIG. SIGs may have different missions such providing a discussion forum or creating a deliverable for the localization community. In addition to the responsibilities outlined in the GALA Volunteer Service Commitment Form, SIG moderators: