Interpreter profiles
The Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS National) periodically profiles interpreters who exemplify TIS National's mission and apply the Australian Institute of Interpreters and Translators (AUSIT) Code of Ethics in their work.
Read about some of TIS National’s high performing interpreters.
Rosemary Kariuki
Created: 27 October 2020
I arrived to Australia in 1999 at age 39, fleeing the inter-tribal conflict in my country Kenya where I grew up. At that time, I did not have any knowledge of how to integrate within the community I was living in. To rebuild my life I started to volunteer with various organisations. One of the volunteer organisations I co-founded was the African Women Dinner Dance. The group works with hundreds of mostly African women from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds. The dinner dance has since become... read more
Soryas and Rivas Khero
Created: 16 February 2021
Siblings Soryas and Rivas Khero have recently joined a growing group of nationally certified Kurmanji Kurdish (alt Northern Kurdish/Ezdiki) interpreters on the TIS National panel. They gained their credentials with the assistance of the NSW scholarship program delivered by Multicultural NSW and have proven to be a very busy duo. TIS National is currently appointing interpreters in this language to our panel of language service providers to meet the growing demand for Kurmanji interpreters across the country. Kurdish... read more
Han-Yin Yang
Created: 30 October 2018
I was born in Taiwan, migrating to Australia with my family around the year 2000. Taiwan is an island that heavily relies upon international trades. When I was young, I had the opportunity to observe interpreters working in business fields. I was amazed by their language and communication skills. All of them not only interpreted the meaning of the words but the emotions of the speakers as well. Although they are not professional actors, their performances were awesome and impressive. Since then I had made up... read more
Sima Keyvan
Created: 19 December 2017
I am a professional level Farsi (Persian) interpreter based in Melbourne. I believe that a good interpreter never stops learning and improving their skills. I was born in Tehran, Iran, to Russian parents. I studied English and Arabic in my early years, and supplemented these with counselling courses when I came to Australia. Throughout my life I have seen the importance of language for effective relations, interpersonal and cross-cultural communication and overcoming barriers. With my natural ability to connect... read more
Mayssa Powell
Created: 27 November 2017
I regard myself as a bit of a ‘liquorice allsort': I am Turkish by descent, Lebanese by birth, Arab by race, Syrian by decree, British by marriage, and Aussie by choice. I was born in Lebanon to parents of Lebanese and Syrian descent. My native language is Arabic, and I also speak English and French. I spent most of my life in Syria and Lebanon and worked at an International Agricultural Centre where scientists from 32 different countries worked. This was my first real appreciation of different cultures, and... read more
Lorraine David
Created: 31 January 2018
My lifelong mission has been to get people to correctly pronounce: deja-vu Moulin Rouge Boulogne nuclear. As a fifth-generation ‘dinki-di Aussie’ living in a small country town on the outskirts of Melbourne, from a very young age I somehow had a fascination for ‘foreigners, with different names and accents’. I have early memories of singing Volare along with Deano Martino on our car-battery powered radio. At a primary school fancy-dress ball, dressed... read more
Mercy Kyosiimye
Created: 06 November 2017
My name is Mercy Kyosiimye and, like many African people, I have a diverse history. I was born in Kenya to a mother who was a refugee from civil strife created by the Idi Amin regime in Uganda. I resided there until my parents passed away when I was eight years old. With the help of the UN my mother had made arrangements for my sister and I to return to Uganda. Once we arrived we were accepted by Watoto, an organisation that looks after orphaned children. I grew up under their care and was educated until I completed... read more
Jolanta Sieradzki
Created: 28 September 2017
I was born in Poland during the time of communism. The country was being rebuilt after the damages of the Second World War. There were many challenges and lack of opportunities, especially for young people. I was inspired as a child by the life of my father. He experienced a more peaceful and happy life while he worked and lived in England for 12 years, so when the opportunity presented itself to study while learning to become an accountant, I was very happy. A new language as well as experiencing another culture... read more
Susan Laval
Created: 31 August 2017
I grew up in a country named Tanganyika, that technically no longer exits. It was part of the British share of the German territory of East Africa. In 1922 it came under a UN protectorate under British supervision, and then in 1964 formally became part of Tanzania. Swahili was the language spoken on the coast of Tanganyika where I was born. Since then the use of Swahili as the lingua franca of Eastern and Central Africa expanded into the whole of Tanzania and Kenya, parts of Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, eastern... read more
Amuthan Vethanayagam
Created: 07 August 2017
I’m a Professionally accredited interpreter in Tamil. I have been working as an interpreter for TIS National for almost five years. I migrated to Australia from Sri Lanka to pursue my education. After completing my degree at Swinburne University in Melbourne, I started working in the Information Technology and Digital Media industry. In my spare time I like: watching movies reading technology related articles photography adventure activities working on IT projects that have scope for user... read more
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