GALA Welcomes Four Members to Its Board of Directors

The votes are in. GALA members have elected four directors to the GALA Board of Directors: Annelise Finegan, Erik Vogt, Johan Botha, and Yana Dinchiyska.

Thank you to every candidate

Before we introduce the new directors, we want to thank everyone who stood for election this year. Running for a board seat takes courage. Each candidate shared a public profile and recorded a video about their experience and their goals for GALA. That openness gave members a clear picture of each person, and it made for an impressive group of candidates.

It was a very close race. Only a small number of votes separated the candidates, which shows how seriously our members took this decision. It also shows that GALA has many capable people ready to lead. 

Meet the new directors

Annelise Finegan

Annelise is Academic Director of Translation and Interpreting and Clinical Associate Professor of Translation at the NYU School of Professional Studies, where she leads the graduate program in translation and interpreting. She is also an award-winning literary translator from Chinese to English, and she has worked in academic publishing as an editor and project manager. Annelise brings a strong connection to education and to the next generation of language professionals. This will be her second board term. 

Erik Vogt

Erik is Solutions and Innovations Director at Argos Multilingual. He started in the translation industry as an engineer in 1998 and has since held senior roles at RWS Moravia, TELUS International, and Appen. Erik is known for bringing customer needs and language technology together, and he brings that practical, solutions-focused view to the board.

Johan Botha

Johan is Director of Folio Online, based in Stellenbosch, South Africa. He has more than 20 years of experience building and growing language programs across Africa and around the world, and he is a well-known voice on African languages and the role of the continent in the future of our industry. Johan has been a highly engaged GALA volunteer.

Yana Dinchiyska

Yana is CEO of 1-StopAsia. She is an engineer with an MBA, and today she leads the company's pricing and revenue strategy as well as its plans for AI and automation. Yana brings a practical view of AI to the board, with a focus on what really works in day-to-day operations. She also wants GALA to welcome more small companies and individual professionals, including people in emerging markets.

Looking ahead

Our new directors begin their terms on 01 January 2027. Terms run through 2029. We look forward to the energy and perspective they will bring as GALA continues to grow its community of companies and individual professionals around the world.

We also thank our departing directors for their service: Jose Palomares, who served two terms and led the board as chair; Daniela D'Amato, who served one term, including a year as chair; and Viveta Gene, who served one term, with a year as secretary and a year as treasurer. We are deeply grateful for the time and leadership they gave to GALA.

Please join us in congratulating Annelise, Erik, Johan, and Yana, and in thanking every candidate who made this election such a strong one.