PLAIN2023
INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE
SPEAKERS
Melissa Alarcon
Melissa Alarcon. Founder and CEO of the company Klarere AS, which works with Clear Legal Language. Speaker/lecturer/teaching assistant in clear language. Masterstudent in law school at University of Oslo - Soon to be jurist/legal consultant in business and legal tech.
Leonardo Altamirano
Leonardo Altamirano is a doctor in Semiotics with a graduate degree in Social Communications. He directs the Communications Office of the Superior Court of Justice of Córdoba (Argentina). He is in charge of coordinating the Clear and Easy-to-Read Language Committee of the Judiciary of Córdoba, as well as the Postgraduate Course in Judicial Communication of the Faculty of Law of the Universidad Nacional de Córdoba (UNC). He teaches Oral and Written Communication for the Higher Technical Degree in Criminal Investigation at the UNC, and is a member of the team researching legal discourse at the Plain Language Observatory of the Faculty of Law at the UBA. As the editor of the trade journal Comercio y Justicia, he received the ADEPA Award for Judicial Journalism, granted by the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation and the Association of Journalistic Entities of Argentina.
Natalia Romina Artmann
Natalia Artmann is an attorney and graduate of the Faculty of Law of the Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA), Argentina, with nine years of experience in corporate law. She began her profession at Alfaro Abogados as a Junior Attorney and subsequently moved to RCTZZ Abogados as a Semi Senior and Senior Attorney. Today, she is in charge of coordinating the corporate law sector at Cerolini & Ferrari Abogados and specializes in plain language in the legal field.
Chantale Audet
Chantale Audet is a medical anthropologist. She is the co-founder of Autrement dit, a plain language consultancy firm based in Quebec, Canada. Many of Autrement dit´s projects relate to health care, the environment, and public health, and aim to promote health literacy. Recently, Autrement dit has won Clearmark Awards for various projects. She previously worked in public health, where she was editor-in-chief of a baby guide called From Tiny Tot to Toddler.
Vanina Azzaro
Vanina Azzaro works at Operational Management for Regulatory Framework and serves as the Coordinator of the Plain Language Program within the Legal and Technical Secretariat of Buenos Aires. Her career began in 2013 as part of the Legal Digest team under the jurisdiction of the Government Subsecretariat. Between 2014 and 2017, she was involved in Legislative Projects at the General Directorate for Legislative Framework Projects of the University of Buenos Aires (UBA). In 2016, she coordinated and provided expertise in legislative technique and Plain Language to the General Directorate for Coordination and Normative Consolidation within the Legal and Technical Secretariat. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Public Policy Management from the National University of Tres de Febrero and has completed postgraduate studies in Metropolitan Management and Policies at FLACSO. She is currently studying law at the University of Buenos Aires.
Christopher Balmford
Christopher Balmford is a sea kayaker; former lawyer; board member of the International Plain Language Federation; project leader of ISO’s Plain Language Project and convenor of ISO Working Group, ISO TC 37 WG 11; past president of Clarity International; and managing director of the plain-language consultancy Words and Beyond (wordsandbeyond.com). He founded the online legal-document provider Cleardocs, which Thomson Reuters acquired in 2011.
Juliana Barica Righini
Juliana Barica Righini is a consultant and mediator working on the development of strategies for independence and life projects for adults with intellectual disabilities. As a consultant and trainer on issues related to adults with intellectual disabilities, she has spent over ten years developing and validating written materials to make them accessible to adults with intellectual disabilities, using Easy-to-Read and Plain Language methodologies.
María Cecilia Barnech
Maria Cecilia Barnech Cuervo is a high-school language teacher who graduated from the Instituto de Profesores (IPA), Uruguay. She also studied law and has a Master's Degree in Law (with an emphasis on Human Rights) from the Universidad Católica de Uruguay (UCUDAL). She has a PhD in Legal Sciences from the Universidad Católica Argentina (UCA) and teaches procedural law. As part of the IUS Project (UCA), she is researching Law and Literature - Peace in the world.
Ivana Basset
Ivana Basset has a degree in Literature from the Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA), Argentina, where she works as an editor as well as professor. She also teaches at the Universidad Torcuato Di Tella and Universidad Nacional de Entre Ríos. She specializes in writing, proofreading and editing texts, and has authored papers and articles on inclusive language and its relationship with plain language, as well as various teaching materials. She regularly gives plain language and inclusive language workshops for different organizations and is a member of the Gender Commission of the Plain Language Observatory of the Faculty of Law at the UBA.
Hernán Biglino
Hernán Gustavo Biglino gradated from the Law Faculty of the Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA) and joined the national criminal and correctional justice system in 1998. He served in different positions before the courts and district attorney's offices before continuing his career in the Justice Department of the City of Buenos Aires, where he was appointed lower court prosecutor in the year 2021. He currently works as the head of Criminal, Misdemeanor and Petty Offenses Prosecution Court No. 39.
Pamela Bolaños Alvarado
Pamela Bolaños Alvarado is a Spanish philologist with a degree in Spanish Philology Teaching from the Universidad Estatal a Distancia (UNED) in Costa Rica, and is currently studying for a Master's Degree in Linguistics at the Universidad de Costa Rica (UCR). After teaching at a secondary school, she is now working as a philologist at the UCR's publishing house.
Ana Lúcia Borges
Ana Lúcia Borges heads up the Plain Language Program of the InovInmetro Innovation Laboratory, at the Instituto Nacional de Metrologia, Qualidade e Tecnologia (Inmetro), in Brazil. A journalist, teacher of Communication and Culture, and a PhD candidate in Information Science, she is researching the use of plain language in the Brazilian public sector.
Amélie Bourret
Amélie Bourret is one of the co-founders of Autrement dit, a company that provides plain language consulting services in French and English as well as training, mainly in Canada. In recent years, her company has won ClearMark Awards for various projects. Trained as a medical anthropologist, she previously worked in public health, including producing and editing a baby guide titled From Tiny Tot to Toddler.
Mariana Bozetti
Mariana Bozetti integra el Comité Académico Consultivo del Observatorio de Lenguaje Claro de la Facultad de Derecho de la Universidad de Buenos Aires. Es Profesora en Letras, egresada de la Universidad Católica Argentina, y cuenta con un Posgrado en Lingüística Forense (Lenguaje jurídico y judicial), de la Universitat Pompeu Fabra. Coordina el área de escritura y oratoria de la Universidad Torcuato Di Tella y allí es profesora de Comprensión de textos y escritura y Expresión oral y escrita. Entre 1998 y 2014 fue asesora lingüística en el estudio jurídico Marval, O´Farrell & Mairal. Actualmente se desempeña en la Dirección General de Capacitación y Escuela del Ministerio Público Fiscal de la Nación.
Lucía Burundarena
Lucia Burundarena graduated from the School of Economics of the Universidad de Ciencias Empresariales y Sociales (UCES), Argentina, in 2006 with a degree in Human Resources. She has been running the Disability Observatory which reports to the Secretariat of Administration and Budget of the Judiciary of the City of Buenos Aires (Judicial Branch) since 2008. She has been teaching the Training Course for Employment at University level, at the Faculty of Psychology of the Universidad Católica Argentina (UCA) since 2009, and since 2014, she has been teaching the specialization course on Disability and Rights at the Faculty of Law at the Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA).
Gisela Candarle
Gisela Candarle is an attorney who graduated with honors from the Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA), Argentina. She has served as Counselor on the City Judicial Council, and since 2013 has been running the Secretariat for the Coordination of Judicial Policies of the City Judicial Council. She is the Program Coordinator at the Plain Language Observatory of the Faculty of Law at the UBA.
Paola Canessa
Paola Canessa Fernández is studying for an Academic Master's Degree in Linguistics, and has a Bachelor's degree in Spanish Philology. She began work in field of writing, Spanish language teaching and academic research in 2012. Her interest lies in developing projects related to improving communications and written texts so that they are inclusive, accessible and assertive for the recipients. She is currently working a research project in the Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica focused on drafting proposals to improve the readability of written texts.
Claudia Cappelli
Claudia Cappelli. Professor at University of the State of Rio de Janeiro. Plain Language Expert. Country Representative for Clarity International. Plain associate. Transparency, Open Data, Computer Human Interface and Information Management Expert. System Information and Digital Literacy Researcher. Enterprise Architect.
Annetta L. Cheek
Dr. Cheek earned a PhD in Anthropology from the University of Arizona. She spent 25 years in the US Federal government, mostly writing and implementing regulations. She was the Chair of the board of the Center for Plain Language from its founding in 2003 until June 2014. She was instrumental in getting the US Congress to pass the Plain Writing Act of 2010. Currently she is working to develop plain language standards under ISO and is the Chair of the Standards Committee of the International Plain Language Federation.
Julie Clement
Julie Clement is president of Clarity Inc., and she served as editor in chief of The Clarity Journal for 14 years. Julie is also a member of the International Plain Language Federation and the Center for Plain Language boards, an instructor in Simon Fraser University’s Plain Language Certificate program, and chair of the drafting committee for Part 2 of the ISO plain-language standard. She is currently the Deputy Clerk of the Michigan Supreme Court, and is a Distinguished Professor Emerita of the Western Michigan University Cooley Law School.
Ariel Gustavo Coll
Ariel Gustavo Coll graduated from the Universidad Nacional del Litoral (Argentina) with a Law degree and since 1978 has been working at the Judiciary of the province of Formosa. He started out as Secretary of the Criminal and Correctional Court of the Third Judicial District based in Las Lomitas, then in Clorinda, until his appointment as Criminal and Correctional First Instance Judge in both jurisdictions. He has been a Judge for the Superior Court of Justice of the Province, from December 1987 to the present, and presided the court in 1989, 1993, 1997, 2000, 2004, 2005, 2010-2013 and 2018. He also presided the Judicial Council of the province of Formosa in 2000, 2004, 2005, 2010-2013 and 2018. He received an award from the European Union's Eurosocial program for activities carried out in Paris, Madrid, Valencia and Toulouse, and is a Fellow of the Argentine NGO Unidos por la Justicia Program. He is Vice President of the Academy for Legal Exchange and Studies (Academia de Intercambio y Estudios Judiciales - AIEJ) and promotes the use of the Plain Language Guide in the Judiciary of Formosa.
Consuelo Conti Toutin
María Consuelo Conti Toutin - Lawyer - Legal English Teacher: Consuelo is an Argentine lawyer from Universidad de Buenos Aires with an LLM at King’s College London and a postgraduate degree in the London School of Economics. She has over 30 years experience as a transactional lawyer, with an extensive carreer in Argentina, USA, Brazil, UK and Venezuela. For the last 20 years, she has taught Contracts, Contract Drafting in English, Common Law and Legal English in UBA, Universidad Austral and Universidad Torcuato Di Tella. She has recently translated and edited the bilingual edition of the book “International Energy Contracts - the Common and the Civil Law Approach” by Francisco Romano and Peter Roberts published by Thomson Reuters. She is a member of the AIEN Educational Board.
Joseane A. Corrêa
Joseane Aparecida Corrêa funded the Linguagem Simples lab and is an external control tax auditor. She implemented the Simple Language and Legal Innovation Program at the Court of Auditors of Santa Catarina, Brazil. She is a member of Plain Language Association International as well as Linguagem Simples Brasil and the Ceará network, including Conexão Inovação Pública RJ, InovaGov and the Brazilian Public Communication Association.
Mariana Cucatto
Mariana Cucatto is a Doctor of Letters from the Faculty of Humanities and Educational Sciences of the Universidad Nacional de La Plata (UNLP), Argentina, an institution where she works as a tenured professor of Language II (Discourse Analysis and Textual Linguistics) and as Coordinator of the Forensic Linguistics Research Group (GILF-CEIL-IdIHCS). She is a researcher at the National Scientific Research Council (Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas - CONICET). Her areas of expertise are: textual linguistics, specialized/professional languages, in particular, Legal Discourse (communication, clarification, optimization). She has presented papers at conferences and published several articles in national and international publications on different issues related to jurisdictional argumentation, from the theoretical-methodological perspective of Cognitive Linguistics. She directs research projects and postgraduate theses on different topics related to the Legal Discourse, and has taught courses to legal professionals in university institutions and judicial bodies. Since 2012, she has been teaching Legal Language and Communication at the Judicial School of the Judicial Council, in the province of Buenos Aires. She was president of the Argentine Linguistics Society (Sociedad Argentina de Estudios Lingüísticos - SAEL), 2019-2021. Currently, she is a member of the Supervisory Commission of SAEL and is Secretary of the Latin American Association of Discourse Studies (ALED). Since 2022, she has been coordinating the research project on Studies on Legal Language and Communication (P30), under the aegis of the Association of Linguistics and Philology of Latin America (Asociación de Lingüística y Filología de América Latina - ALFAL), together with Dr. Maria das Graças Soares Rodrigues (Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil)
Iria da Cunha
Iria da Cunha holds a PhD in Language Science and Applied Linguistics from the Universitat Pompeu Fabra. She is a lecturer at the National Distance Education University (UNED, Spain) and she is academician of the Academia Joven de España. She is the author of more than 120 scientific publications, such as the book Lenguaje claro y tecnología en la Administración. She has participated in 23 research projects, and she has been the principal investigator of four of them. She has designed and coordinated the development of the arText system, the first assisted writer for Spanish that helps to adapt texts in plain language.
Rafael da Silva Rodrígues
Rafael da Silva Rodrígues. Born in the Brazilian Amazon, accounting scientist, information systems analyst and graphic facilitator by personal discovery. Citizen of the world, father of Nooah and Zion. Currently, working with a focus on the redesign of public services in Brazil.
Ileana Dall´Aglio
Ileana Dall'Aglio is a sworn translator (Spanish-English) with a degree from the Universidad Nacional de La Plata (UNLP), Argentina, and a specialization in legal and economic translation from the Universidad Nacional de Córdoba (UNC) as well as a diploma in audiovisual translation from the Universidad Tecnológica Nacional (UTN). She is a professor at the Higher School of Medicine of the Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, and acts as a court-appointed expert for the National Judiciary and for the Superior Court of Justice of the Province of Buenos Aires.
Marcelly de Freitas Gomes
Marcelly de Freitas Gomes is an anthropologist and researcher at Pólen - Laboratory for Innovation in Public Management at the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Pólen-FIOCRUZ). She is currently pursuing a master's degree in the Graduate Program in Public Policies in Human Rights - PPDH/NEPP-DH at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. She is a researcher in the field of Collective Health, works on various studies from a Social Sciences perspective, and does research in innovation, health assessment, primary care, and indigenous health.
Anthony de Novaes
Anthony de Novaes da Silva is an attorney, academic researcher and visiting professor of undergraduate and postgraduate courses, in Brazil and other countries in Latin America. He has a Master's in Linguistics and graduated in Law from the Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie. He has authoried several books and articles, including the first book on Legal Design in Spanish (Legal Design: la clave para disrumpir la profesión legal, los negocios y el sector público, Thomson Reuters Aranzadi, Spain, 2022). He is a member of the Berkeley Center on Comparative Equality and Anti-Discrimination Law (BCCE), of PLAIN and of the Rede Linguagem Simples Brasil.
Vanessa de Oliveira
Vanessa de Oliveira Dagostim Pires is a Doctor in Applied Linguistics, a Professor at the Instituto Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil) where she is also coordinating the Accessible Literature Project, and the author of the Easy-to-Read Manual for Educators.
Rodrigo de Santis Neves
Rodrigo de Santis Neves heads up the innovation laboratory known as InovInmetro at the Brazilian National Institute of Metrology, Quality and Technology (Inmetro). With a PhD in Chemistry, he currently works with innovation in the public sector, with a special focus on plain language, risk management and planning.
Julia del Barco
Julia del Barco has a degree in Social Communication and works at the Institutional Information and Communications Center of the Institutional Management Secretariat of the Universidad Nacional de Córdoba (UNC), Argentina. She specializes in Language and Digital Communications and provides technical assistance to public administration personnel in the preparation of different textual genres. She wrote a publication on "Escribir textos administrativos en la UNC, con perspectiva de género y lenguaje jurídico claro".
Rodrigo Dellutri
Rodrigo Dellutri is an attorney with a degree from the Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA), Argentina. He is an expert in Criminal Law (Universidad Austral) and has an LL.M from Louisiana State University (LSU). A Fulbright Scholar, he coordinates the Children and Adolescents Commission at the Plain Language Observatory of the Faculty of Law at the UBA, and is Tutelary Adviser to the Criminal, Misdemeanor and Petty Offense Courts in the City of Buenos Aires (CABA).
Carla Luján Di Biase
Carla Di Biase is a sworn translator (Spanish-English) from the Universidad Nacional de La Plata (UNLP). She has over ten years of experience in freelance translation and six years of experience in legal translation as a member of the Public Ministry of the Province of Buenos Aires. She trained in various areas related to language, and is a Specialist in Scientific-Technical Translation from the University of Córdoba, and also trained as a Conference Interpreter (EN-ES) with the Lucille Barnes Studio and the Universidad del Salvador (USAL). She is currently concluding her Bachelor's degree in Psychology (UNLP), equipping her with a solid grounding in the areas of psychology, psychoanalysis, social anthropology and subjectivities. Her current interests center on research into specialized terminology in Linguistics, Genres, Videogames and Mental Health as applied to translation and interpreting practices.
Natalia Echegoyemberry
Maria Natalia Echegoyemberry is a Coordinator of the Health Commission of the Plain Language Observatory of the Faculty of Law at the UBA. She is a Research Associate at the Petrie Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology and Bioethics at Harvard Law School and the Coordinator of the Group for the preparation and prevention of pandemics at Vaccines for People in Latin America and the Caribbean (PVA-LAC). She advises the Group Promoting the Argentine Network of Community Advocacy, acting as a Technical Health Consultant, attorney and psychologist with a Master's in Public Health.
Hernán Elman
Hernán Elman is an attorney with a degree in international relations. He is an expert in transparency and innovation in the judicial field. As Director of the Digital Center for Judicial Documentation of the Judicial Council of Argentina, he promotes the adoption of new technologies, plain language, and access to clear information in the Judiciary. He is a university professor and lecturer, and has written multiple articles on law and innovation.
Gabriela Escarrá
Gabriela Escarra is a sworn translator (ES-EN) from the Universidad Nacional de La Plata (UNLP), where she is also Professor of English Language and Literature. She is also a Proofreader for the Fundación LITTERAE, and an ISO 27001 Auditor with TAUS certifications in Post-editing and Transcreation. She is a member of PLAIN, ATA, ANSI (ISO member) and ASTM TC F43.
Sofía Escobar Vallejo
Sofia Escobar Vallejo is a bilingual attorney who graduated with honors from the Faculty of Legal Sciences of the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana (Colombia). She has extensive professional experience in both the public and private sectors, particularly in consulting and litigation where she seeks to employ creative processes and introduce new technologies to develop new ways of providing legal services and accessing justice in response to real-world user needs.
Liliana Escudero
Liliana Escudero is an attorney at the Jurisprudence Information Center (Centro de Información Jurisprudencial) (Costa Rica), who coordinates the Plain Language Project for the Judiciary of Costa Rica. She has a Master's in Family Law from the Universidad Latina de Costa Rica (ULatina), and a specialization in Notarial and Registry Law from the Universidad La Salle. She also specialized in Project Management at the Universidad San Marcos, and has a Postgraduate in Spanish Language Proofreading and Advice from the Universitat Rovira I Virgili (Spain).
M. Victoria Feito Torrez
Maria Victoria Feito Torrez is an attorney and sworn translator (Spanish-English) as well as Notary Public at the Universidad Nacional de La Plata (UNLP), Argentina. She has a Diploma in Legal English on Human Rights and International Instruments from the Universidad Católica de Cuyo (UCCuyo). She is a Legal English linguist at the law firm Marval O'Farrell Mairal and the Head of Practical Studies for the course on Introduction to Law at the UNLP. She is a Member of PLAIN and of the Institute of Philosophy and General Theory of Law at the La Plata Bar Association. She is a member of the Plain Language subcommittee of the Colegio de Traductores Públicos e Intérpretes de la Provincia de Buenos Aires (La Plata regional chapter).
Joana Fernandes
Joana Fernandes is a Clarity Maker and trainer at Claro, with a special devotion to turning legalese into Portuguese. Since 2013, she has managed language simplification projects for Portuguese businesses and government agencies. Specializing in plain legal language, she has written court notices and summaries of laws, and drafted various types of legal documents. She has also worked as a freelance consultant for the Portuguese Ministry of Justice, leading content production for its website.
Genoveva Ferrero
Genoveva Ferrero has a PhD in Economics and Government; she is a Master of Laws, specializing in Government Procurement Law, and has a Master's in Crisis, Emergency and Security Management as well as a Diploma in Public State Contracts and Public Infrastructure. She has worked on Human Rights Lawyering, Gender, Sexuality and International Human Rights Law at the International Human Rights Law Summer School. She took a postgraduate course in City Law and a postgraduate course in Administrative Law Institutions. At the moment she is serving as the 1st Vice President of the Judicial Council of the City of Buenos Aires (CABA) and as the General Secretary of the Federal Forum of Judicial Councils and Prosecution Juries of the Argentine Republic. Formerly, she was the Secretary of General Administration and Budget of the Judiciary of CABA and also Secretary of Administration of the Security Forces of the Government of CABA as well as the former Director General of Supplies for the Metropolitan Police of CABA and the former General Administrative Coordinator of the General Directorate of Procurement and Contracting of the Government of CABA. She was a former Deputy of the CABA Legislature. A Professor at the Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA), she has taught Electronic Public Procurement, Administrative Contracts, Government Accounting and Management Control, as well as Constitutional Law and Human Rights at the Instituto Superior de Seguridad Pública (ISSP-CABA), and is a Professor of the Specialization Program in State, Local and Federal Advocacy for the Attorney General's office in CABA.
Irema Ferrez Vega
Irema Ferrez Vega is a journalist with a degree in Humanities and a Master's in Digital Content Management. She has been working for the Generalitat de Catalunya (Spain) for 18 years developing technological projects, including creating digital content for websites and government apps from a user experience perspective. Over the last seven years, she has also been managing the corporate web and the implementation of web accessibility for all the digital products of the Generalitat de Catalunya. In 2022, she organized the launch of their Plain Communication website together with Esther Peña (the deputy director of citizen services), initially written in Catalan. For the last eight months, she has been exclusively dedicated to the area of making processes easier and clearer from an internal perspective, e.g., administrative procedures, online processes, paperwork, etc.
María del Mar Forment
María del Mar Forment Fernández is a linguist with a degree from the Universitat de Barcelona (UB), Spain. She is a member of the research group on Studies in Academic and Professional Discourse (Estudios de Discurso Académico y Profesional - EDAP). As the deputy director of the UB-Barcelona Provincial Council Chair on Plain Communication applied to Public Administration, she has participated in different funded research projects. Currently, she is a researcher on a project entitled "The Right to Understand Tax Communication. Analysis and clarification of the discourse used in collection procedures".
M. Ángeles García Asensio
María Ángeles García Asensio has a PhD in Hispanic Philology (Spanish Language) and is a full professor in the Department of Hispanic Philology, Theory of Literature and Communication at the Universitat de Barcelona (UB), Spain, teaching advanced communications (academic and professional) for the Audiovisual Communication degree. She is a member of the coordination team for the Master's degree in Spanish as a Foreign Language in Professional Fields, which she also teaches. She gives legal writing classes for the Master's degree in Advanced Legal Studies at the UB, as well as at the Escuela Judicial Española. She also teaches the Effective oral communication techniques course to young researchers, organized by the professional development center (ICE) at the UB.
Lorena González Castro Feijóo
María Lorena González Castro Feijóo is an attorney who graduated from the Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA), Argentina. She has a Master's in Administrative Law from the Universidad Austral and is a specialist in Constitutional Justice and Constitutional Processes, from the Graduate School of Law of the Universidad de Castilla-la Mancha, Spain; she also specialized in the subject of Right to Health from the UBA and has a Diploma in Consumer Relations. She has worked as Public Defender before the Courts of First Instance in Contentious Administrative, Tax and Consumer Relations of the City of Buenos Aires, since 2009, where she has pursued her judicial career since this institution was established in 2000, beginning as a clerk working at what was then the Official Public Defender's Office. She has been the President of the Civil Association of Public Defense of the Argentine Republic (Asociación Civil de la Defensa Pública de la República Argentina - ADePRA), since 2018. She is Vice President of the MERCOSUR Public Defenders Bloc and a member of the Inter-American Association of Public Defenders (AIDEF). She sits on the current Board of Directors of the College of Magistrates, Members of the Public Ministry and Officials of the Judiciary of CABA, as General Secretary. She has completed various postgraduate courses related to constitutional law, administrative law, consumer relations, oral litigation skills, and regularly participates in conferences, seminars and congresses as a speaker or organizer.
Guillermo González Zurro
Guillermo Dante González Zurro is a Judge of the National Civil Appeals Court in Buenos Aires, and a Doctor of Laws from the Universidad Católica Argentina (UCA). He is a full professor of Civil and Commercial Procedural Law at the UCA and also teaches communications on the Master's Degree for the Judiciary at the UCA. He was a researcher on the UBACyT project about new legal language, "Nuevos Lenguajes Jurídicos", 2020-2022 at the UBA and has written several articles on plain language.
Nadja Green
Nadja Green. An accomplished plain language content developer, researcher, and strategist with a passion for promoting plain language as a strategic priority. Nadja provides plain language services, consulting, and training to professionals and organizations. As a representative of South Africa, Nadja helped to develop the first ISO standard for plain language. Nadja serves on the Localization and Certification committees of the International Plain Language Federation.
Mara Grosvald
Mara Grosvald graduated from the Universidad Nacional del Comahue (UNCo), Argentina, with a degree in sworn translation (Spanish-English) in 2001. Initially, she specialized in audiovisual translation, a subject she also taught at the Colegio de Traductores Públicos de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires (CTPCBA), the Asociación Argentina de Traductores e Intérpretes (AATI) and other entities. Since 2005, she has focused on legal translation, in particular contracts and documents on technology and intellectual property. In 2023, she began to train as a proofreader for translated texts at the Fundación LITTERAE to give her use of plain language a more professional basis.
Fernanda Guerra Machado
"Fernanda Guerra. With 23 years of accumulated experience in legal practice, Fernanda Guerra, Esq., was the first attorney-at-law in Latin America certified in Contratos Conscientes ® (“Conscious Contracts”), delving into legal innovation, legal design, visual law and simple communication. Creator of SER - Sustentando Elos Reais (“Sustaining Real Connections”) and founder of Fernanda Guerra Advocacia. She is a visiting professor at the Rio de Janeiro State Judicial School (EMERJ – Escola da Magistratura do Estado do Rio de Janeiro) and at the Mediare Institute. Co-author of the book “Trauma-Informed Law: A Primer for Practicing Lawyers and a Pathway for Resilience and Healing” (2023), published by the American Bar Association. She is also a guest author of the book "Direito e Transformação Social" (“Law and Social Transformation”) (2023), coordinated by jurists Anderson Schreiber and Marco Aurélio Bezerra de Melo. She adds a systems-level look to her activity, combining a diverse range of multidisciplinary courses that she has attended throughout her professional trajectory. She is a specialist in Mediation from Mediare and has a postgraduate degree in Neuroscience and Behavior from PUCRS. She completed additional training in Leadership for Transition, at Schumacher College, in England, and in Holistic Sciences and Economics for Transition, at Escola Schumacher Brasil. She is also certified in Collaborative Practices, Peacemaking Culture Circles, Systemic Constellations and Non-Violent Communication."
Dolores Guiñazú
Dolores R. Guiñazú is a sworn translator with a degree from the Universidad del Salvador (USAL), Argentina, and has a Master's in Marketing (Universidad del Salvador and Albany University - NY) and is a Proofreader certified by the Fundación LITTERAE and Fundéu. She is a member of PLAIN, ATA, ANSI (ISO member) and ASTM TC F43, and has TAUS certifications in Post-editing and Transcreation.
Analía Gutiérrez
Analía Gutiérrez has a Bachelor of Arts in Applied Linguistics from the Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA), Argentina. Since 2015 she has been the Director of the Lengua Franca civil association, and the Director of Institutional Relations at the Fundación Solar de Integración since 2013. She teaches Spanish on the Exchange Program for Foreign Students at the Universidad Tecnólogica Nacional. From 1995 to 2017, she was the Project Development Coordinator of the Fundación Argentina de Afasia.
Kate Harrison Whiteside
Kate Harrison Whiteside. My path started in journalism and led me to co-found the Plain Language Association International (PLAIN), International Plain Language Day, and be director of the Plain Language Academies. Each student or project, whether in health, government, services, or business, teaches me new perspectives in clear communication. I live in British Columbia, inspired by the views of lakes, orchards, mountains, and vineyards.
Patricia Hartmann Bruno
Patricia Hartmann Bruno. Architect and Urban Planner graduated in 2009 from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro – FAU / UFRJ. Career municipal servant since 2011, currently Manager in the Planning and Projects Board of RIOURBE - Municipal Urbanization Company, the company of projects and public constructions of the City Hall of Rio de Janeiro. Member of the program “Líderes Cariocas” (Class 2017), the Management Training and Professional Development Program of the João Goulart Foundation (FJG in Portuguese) for public servants of the City Hall of Rio. Extension Course recently concluded by the VI Latin American Program of Governance, Political Management and Public Management of the Getúlio Vargas Foundation (FGV in Portuguese)."
Claudia M. Hernández Flores
Claudia Margarita Hernández Flores has a Master's in Senior Management of Government and Public Policies, and is a Graduate in Law with a specialty in Family Law from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. She is currently attached to the Master's on Anti-Corruption and Compliance Studies (MACC) taught at the International Anti-Corruption Academy in Laxenburg, Austria. She qualified for the EC1057 Skills Standard on "Guaranteeing the right to access public information" and has also studied issues related to the protection of personal data, transparency and the fight against corruption. She sits on the Citizen Participation Committee of the State of Mexico and Municipalities of the Anti-Corruption State Secretariat of the State of Mexico and Municipalities.
Sherlyn Jiménez Barquero
Sherlyn Jiménez Barquero has a Bachelor's Degree in Spanish Philology from the Universidad de Costa Rica (UCR). She is currently studying for a Bachelor's Degree in Spanish Philology and a Master's Degree in Linguistics, also at the UCR.
Joh Kirby
Joh Kirby is a lawyer and Head of Governance, Risk and Compliance at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research (WEHI) in Melbourne Australia. Prior to working at WEHI Joh was the Executive Director of the Victoria Law Foundation, a government organization that works to improve people's understanding of the law. In 2010, Joh was awarded a Churchill Fellowship to investigate international best practice in community legal education. The publication of this research was used to inform the development of community legal education practices in the state of Victoria. Joh is interested in how clear communication and plain language can break down barriers, particularly for disadvantaged and cultural groups.
Gladys Krasuk
Gladys Viviana Krasuk is an attorney who graduated from the Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA), Argentina, in 1995. She has been working since 2010 as the Juvenile Criminal Liability Judge in charge of Court No. 1 of the Quilmes Judicial Department in the province of Buenos Aires, having joined the Judiciary of the province of Buenos Aires in 2004. She is a member of the Children and Adolescents Committee of the Plain Language Observatory of the Faculty of Law at the UBA. She has contributed to several publications, most recently to the collective work on "Crimes committed by minors" directed by Dr. Elbio Ramos and published by the Hammurabi publishing house. In her academic activity, she participates in courses, teaching and giving talks on Plain Language and Childhood Perspectives. She is currently the representative of the committee in the jurisdiction of Juvenile Criminal Liability of the College of Quilmes, and sits on the Committee of the College of Magistrates and Officials of the province of Buenos Aires, and participates in the range of research and training activities organized by the International Association of Juvenile and Family Court Magistrates. She is dedicated to continuous training activities, and in 2021 completed a course at the Judicial School of the Judicial Council of the Province of Buenos Aires. She is currently finalizing her thesis for a Diploma on tools for addressing gender violence issued by the Judicial Studies Institute of the Judiciary of the Province of Buenos Aires.
Kevin Lehmann
Kevin Lehmann is President of the Ibero-American Association of Judicial Communication Professionals, and is the Justice and Communication Chair at the Escuela Nacional de la Judicatura (Dominican Republic). He also sits on the Academic Advisory Committee of the Plain Language Observatory of the Faculty of Law at the UBA.
Tarsila Lima
Tarsila de Andrade Ribeiro Lima is a Brazilian professor and researcher who graduated in Literature, and has a Master's degree and Doctorate in the area of Brazilian Literature. She works at the Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (Uerj) as a university technician, and is currently coordinating the project on "Plain Language: a right for users of public services", which aims to adapt documents to plain language in the University Documentation Center (Centro de Produção da Uerj - Cepuerj), to facilitate access to information and promote inclusion, bringing the population closer to the public university. She has experience in the area of Education and Literature, specifically in the areas of textual revision and evaluation committees. She is interested in the studies of the practice of language as a tool for social inclusion and transformation.
Tessa Manuello
Tessa Manuello, a trailblazing figure in Legal Design and Innovation, is a renowned International Speaker, Trainer, Mentor, and Certified High Performance Coach. As the Founder & CEO of Legal Creatives, she empowers legal professionals worldwide to leverage design and creative skills applied to the law. With a focus on the way legal information is drafted and legal services are delivered, Tessa's courses inspire legal minds from 50+ countries to embrace creativity, reshape legal information, and craft client-focused legal services. Her impact is echoed by a graduate: "Your bootcamp is a real booster! A couple of weeks ago I would not have believed that I would be able to create a document like this in Word. I love the combination of theory and practical homework, great concept!!" With a background as a case manager at a prestigious arbitration institution, Tessa bridges law and design, fueling the Legal Future movement globally. Holding three LLMs, her journey exemplifies a refreshing blend of tradition and innovation.
Romina Marazzato Sparano
Romina Marazzato Sparano is a certified translator, teacher and researcher, and founder of Plain Language International Inc., a company dedicated to clear communication. She trained at the Universidad Nacional de la Plata, as well as at Occidental College in Los Angeles (USA), the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey (MIIS) (USA), and the State University of New York at Buffalo (SUNY-Buffalo) (USA). She designed the Master's in Translation and Localization Management course at MIIS and is a member of the SUNY-Buffalo's Semantics Lab and of the faculty of Plain Language Academies. She contributes as an expert in language standards development to ASTM International and the International Standardization Organization (ISO) as well as being a judge for the ClearMark and Plain Language Awards. She has formed part of various organizations and professional initiatives. Currently, she sits on the Divisions Committee and the Standards Committee of the American Translators Association (ATA) and the Board of Directors of PLAIN.
Marcela Marín
María Marcela Marín is an attorney from the Universidad Nacional del Comahue (Argentina). She has a postgraduate degree in Judicial Communication: the mediatization of legal discourse, from the Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. She is a founding member of the Ibero-American Association of Judicial Communication Professionals (JusCom) and Coordinator of the Gender Institute of this organization. She is a member of the Observatory for Sentences with a Gender Perspective. She has worked for the Judiciary of Río Negro as the Judicial Communication Delegate for the Second Judicial Jurisdiction of the Judicial Communication Directorate of the Judiciary of Río Negro.
Ana M. Méndez Cabrera
Ana Magnolia Méndez Cabrera graduated in Law, Magna Cum Laude from the Universidad Central del Este, San Pedro de Macorís (Dominican Republic). She has a Master's degree in Business Law and Economic Legislation from the Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra. She specializes in teaching Creative Writing, at the School of Writers at the Universidad de Alcalá (Spain). She is currently is studying for a Doctorate in Law at the Universidad de Externado (Colombia). She is a professor of Legal Drafting Techniques, Liberalities and Inheritance, and Real Estate Law at the Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra, at the Santo Domingo campus, and runs training programs for judges and and judicial employees of the Escuela Nacional de la Judicatura. She is a postgraduate teacher for the Master's degree in Real Estate Law at the Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra. She is a practicing judge.
Blas Matías Michienzi
Blas Matías Michienzi is an attorney with a Law degree from the Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA), Argentina. He is the Prosecutor for Criminal, Misdemeanors and Petty Offenses of the City of Buenos Aires and Secretary of the Asociación Argentina de Fiscales. He served as the Prosecutor in charge of the Specialized Fiscal Unit in Environmental Matters (UFEMA) of the City of Buenos Aires from the time this entity was created in March 2016 to September 2020. He is a Law Enforcement Expert consultant for the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and also consults for the Program on the "Implementation of Wildlife and Forest Toolkit in Paraguay", (2022). He is a Professor at the Faculty of Law of the UBA and of the Universidad de Morón, teaching on the Legal Regime governing Natural Resources, and is also a visiting professor at the Universidad Nacional de Misiones (UNAM). He is Subdirector of the Program to update the Rights of Nature run by the Faculty of Law at the UBA. He was the Executive Secretary of the Latin American Network of Environmental Public Ministries (2015-2017) and the representative for Argentina until April 2022. A specialist attorney in Natural Resources and Environment from the Faculty of Law of the UBA. A specialist attorney in Justice Administration from the Faculty of Law of the UBA. Professor of the Climate Change Update Program given by the Graduate Department of the Faculty of Law of the UBA. A trainer on the Inter-American Program for Training Trainers for Criminal Procedure Reform organized by the Justice Studies Center of the Americas (JSCA-OAS).
Cláudia Mont'Alvão
Claudia Mont'Alvão obtained her D.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees in Transport Engineering at Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (2001, 1997) and graduated in Product Design from Centro Universitário da Cidade (1994). She was a visiting scholar at Kookmin University (South Korea) in Spring semester 2022, part of the PosDoc research 'UX Methodology.' Currently is Associate Professor at Post Graduation Program in Design and Vice Dean of Development and Innovation for the Center of Theology and Humanities at Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro. Her work includes teaching at undergraduate and graduation levels, research in Human Factors/ Ergonomics, and coordination of the Laboratory of Ergodesign and Usability of Interfaces LEUI|PUC-Rio. Since 2002, she has served as an ad-hoc consultant for Brazilian Agencies such as CNPq and FAPERJ. Her research focuses on studying and applying Human Factors/ Ergonomics in human-computer interaction, information systems, considering the Plain Language approach. She's a PLAIN Language Association International member since 2021 and was nominated PLAIN Ambassador in Brazil, last June 2023. As a recognized Brazilian researcher from CNPq (Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development), She received funding for research for the following periods and levels: level 2 (2015-2017/ 2018-2020), level 1D (2021- 2024). and was also elected as a member of the CNPq Board for Design Area (Comitê de Assessoramento - CA Design) for 2021/2024.
Leticia Montiel
Leticia Montiel is a graduate in Economics from the Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata (Argentina) and has a postgraduate degree in Public Policy from the Universidad Torcuato Di Tella. She has pursued her entire professional career in public service, occupying various positions of responsibility. She has worked for the national ministries of Economy, Labor, Culture and Education and Health. She was a consultant for the Federal Investment Council and for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). In 2006, she joined the City Government team as Director of Public Management and Budget for the Ministry of Finance. She went on to be the General Director of Planning and Control of the Ministry of Health, and the General Technical, Administrative and Legal Director of the Chief of the Cabinet of Ministers, during the two terms that Mauricio Macri served as City Mayor. Since 2015, she has accompanied Mayor Horacio Rodríguez Larreta as his Legal and Technical Secretary.
Natalia Mumford
Natalia Mumford is Project Coordinator and B Corp lead at Write Limited in New Zealand. Write is the first plain language consultancy to be certified as B Corp and helps organizations around the world experience all the benefits of clear communication. Natalia holds a bachelor's degree in business communications and a TESOL Certificate from Westchester Community College (New York). She’s also worked in marketing and business development in a prestigious law firm in Buenos Aires.
Silvia Susana Naciff
Silvia Susana Naciff is a sworn translator (Spanish-French), who graduated from the Universidad Nacional de La Plata (UNLP) Argentina. She specialized in legal translation at the University of Alicante in Spain and has been an expert translator since 1997. A full counselor from 2011 to 2022 at the Colegio de Traductores Públicos e Intérpretes de la Provincia de Buenos Aire, at the La Plata chapter, she also runs the commissions on Courses, Legal Translation and Expert Labor. As professor she has taught Legal-Economic Translation in French II as well as being an assistant for Legal-Economic Translation in French I. She is also teaches the course on Law applied to Translation 1 and 2, as part of the sworn translator's degree course at the UNLP. She has participated as a speaker at numerous conferences and contributed as a member to several accredited research projects at the UNLP on legal language in criminal and civil sentencing, and the problem of unclear language when translating. Several of her works on legal language have been published.
Clarissa Nascimento Duarte
Clarissa Nascimento Duarte has a bachelor’s degree in Public Administration and currently works as a Public Policy and Government Management specialist in the State of Minas Gerais, in Brazil. She works specificaly with Innovation at the Laboratório de Inovação em Governo de Minas Gerais (LAB.mg) with projects regarding Public Services, User Experience and Plain Language. She has been coordinating and facilitating workshops and talks about Plain Language since 2021 and writes and talks about Plain Language every chance she gets.
Hipólito Nosiglia
Hipolito Nosiglia studied Social Communication Sciences at the Faculty of Social Sciences of the Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA). After working at the PR agency Salem Viale Gonzalez Villanueva, he joined the communications team of German Garavano in 2016, as the press spokesman for the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights of the Nation. Since 2019, he has been the Head of the Judicial Information Office of the City of Buenos Aires' Public Prosecutor's Office, whose priority is the Plain Language Workshops Program.
Helena O´Hare
Helena O’Hare is adviser to the Director of the Directorate for Citizens’ Language, one of the directorates of the European Parliament’s translation service. The Directorate for Citizens’ Language was set up in 2020 to respond to the need for closer communication with European citizens. This communication has to be fully multilingual, in the 24 official EU languages, but it must also be clear, inclusive and accessible. Clear language as a tool of inclusiveness is always at the forefront in the Directorate for Citizens’ Language, where the teams of language professionals focus on localizing, translating and adapting content for text, audio and video. Helena is a former translator, editor and subtitler. She holds a BA in Spanish and Portuguese and an MSc in interpreting and translation. Her 22+ years of experience in the European institutions have enriched her knowledge and passion for multilingualism and clear language.
Carmen C. Olivetti
Carmen Clementina Olivetti is a sworn translator (Spanish-English) with a degree from the Universidad del Museo Social Argentino (UMSA). She also has a Law Degree from the Universidad Nacional del Nordeste (UNNE). She practices both professions independently. In addition, she works as an expert translator and interpreter of English for various different jurisdictions of the provincial and national courts in the capital city of Buenos Aires. She was a provisional member of the Board of Directors of the Colegio de Traductores Públicos de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires (CTPCBA) from 2016 to 2020.
Maria Ortiz Takacs
Maria Ortiz Takacs is a sworn translator (French/English to Spanish) who graduated from the Universidad del Salvador (Argentina) and has over 25 years of experience in legal translation and interpretation. She has a Master's degree in Institutional Translation from the Universidad de Alicante (Spain) and a postgraduate diploma in Communications from McGill University (Canada). She is a member of the Quebec Translators Association (OTTIAQ), where she coaches applicants for certification. Her interest in the subtleties of legal discourse prompted her to begin her law studies at the Universidad de Ciencias Empresariales y Sociales (UCES) with a focus on researching clear legal language, a subject that combines her two passions: language and the law. She is part of the team researching human rights within the framework of the project entitled "Human Rights in Argentina in the face of new challenges", directed by Dr. Paola Alejandra Urbina and Dr. Darío Germán Spada. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-7571-1474
Antonia Osés
María Antonia Osés holds a Bachelor's degree in Literature (UBA), a Master's degree in Hispanic Lexicography from the Real Academia Española and the Universidad de León (Spain). She teaches undergraduate and graduate courses at the Universidad Católica Argentina, including undergraduate courses on Lexicography, Legal Terminology, Linguistics of Variation and Academic Writing for governmental organizations, national universities. In the European Union she has taught at the Universidad of Valladolid (Spain), and at the Archivio Chiara Lubich in Castel Gandolfo (Italy). She has worked on the research team of the Academia Argentina de Letras and has collaborated in the elaboration, edition and correction of the Diccionario del Habla de los Argentinos and the Diccionario del Estudiante (RAE). As a linguist, she has coordinated the SAIJ Bank of Legal Vocabularies at the Argentine Ministry of Justice and Human Rights. She was involved in the design and drafting of the SAIJ Thesaurus of Argentine Law and has prepared digital legal terminology glossaries. She has also published dictionaries in paper format such as the Paidós Dictionary of Bullying and Cyberbullying and Léxico de la carne. She is a member of the team working at the Secretariat of Jurisprudence of the Superior Court of Justice of the CABA.
Veronica P. Machado
Veronica Machado is a professor of Portuguese, English and Literature at the Instituto Federal Sul-Rio-Grandense - Sapucaia do Sul campus (Brazil). Her field of interest is the study of the acquisition of second languages and textual adaptation.
Esther Peña de las Heras
Esther Peña de las Heras is the Deputy Director General of the Citizen's Services department at the Generalitat de Catalunya. She has been working for this government body since 1992, and has held different positions throughout her career. She is passionate about the process of digital transformation in the context of improving citizen experience in all areas and channels. She has been the Deputy Director General of Citizen Services since 2021, tackling specific challenges and opportunities in four different areas: active listening, provision of support for citizens, integrated attention, and communication. Clear communication is one of these challenges. The sub-directorate is also driving a cross-sectoral project on clear communication which involves the entire Administration of the Generalitat de Catalunya.
Santiago Pereira Campos
Santiago Pereira Campos is President of the Ibero-American Institute of Procedural Law and the Coordinator of the Uruguayan Network of Plain Legal Language. He is a Professor of Procedural Law and Director of the Master's Degree in Procedural Law and Litigation at the Universidad de Montevideo.
Fernando Polanco Martínez
Fernando Polanco Martínez is a doctor in Hispanic Philology (Spanish Language) and the Serra Húnter lecturer at the Department of Hispanic Philology, Theory of Literature and Communication at the Universitat de Barcelona, Spain. He teaches courses for the Degree in Hispanic Philology and for the Master's Degree in Spanish as a Foreign Language: Research and Professional practices. He is a member of the research group called Estudios del Discurso Académico y Profesional (EDAP), recognized and financed by the Generalitat de Catalunya.
Josefina Raffo
Josefina Raffo has a degree in Literature and a Master's in Hispanic Lexicography, which she also teaches. She is a researcher at the Department of Linguistic and Philological Research of the Academia Argentina de Letras, where she collaborates with the publications of the RAE and the Association of Spanish Language Academies. A professor of Oral and Written Expression Techniques at the Law School of the Universidad Austral, she teaches legal writing and argumentation courses for federal and provincial Justice agencies. She sits on the Legal Discourse Committee of the Plain Language Observatory of the Faculty of Law at the UBA.
Joanna Richardson
Joanna Richardson has a degree in Spanish, Latin American and Portuguese literature from King's College London. In 1985 Joanna emigrated from the United Kingdom to Argentina where she began work teaching English and as a translator. From 2001 to 2020, Joanna dedicated herself to teaching plain language to lawyers working in English at Marval O'Farrell Mairal, the leading law firm in Argentina. Joanna has applied her expertise in clear communication to provide professionals around the world with the tools they need to communicate in clear English, both written and spoken. She is a member of Clarity International and Plain Language Association International, the two NGOs promoting plain language in the world. She served on PLAIN's executive committee for six years and acted as the organization's president in 2018, and is currently holding that position. She sits on the committee of the International Plain Language Federation and writes a regular column on clear communication published in the Argentine newspaper TheBATimes.
Diana Rivas
Diana Rivas is a sworn translator (Spanish-English) from the Universidad Católica Argentina (UCA). She is a Spanish Proofreader at the Fundación LITTERAE-Fundéu and a Specialist in Higher Education from the University de la Marina Mercantil (UdeMM). She has a Diploma in Environmental Management from the Universidad Tecnólogica Nacional (UTN). She has taught face-to-face and online courses on legal and environmental issues, as well as on the use of the Spanish language, and other profession-related issues at the Colegio de Traductores Públicos de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires (CTPCBA), as well as at New York University (USA), and at other institutions. She sat on the University Relations, Research and Teaching Commission of the CTPCBA, and the Translation Commission of the Plain Language Observatory of the Faculty of Law at the UBA. She is an affiliated member of the Argentine Plain Language Network. She currently sits on the Legal Issues Committee at the CTPCBA, and the Legal Discourse Commission at the Plain Language Observatory of the Faculty of Law at the UBA. She is a professor of legal English at UdeMM and also works as an auxiliary expert for the Judiciary of the Argentine Nation. She is a member of the CTPCBA, PLECA and PLAIN.
Stacy Robison
Stacy Robison. A self-proclaimed health literacy geek and an expert in clear communication, Stacy is responsible for leading CommunicateHealth’s content and creative excellence. Since co-founding the company at the age of 30, Stacy has overseen CommunicateHealth teams in creating award-winning innovative health content and digital tools informed by the latest public health research and behavior change theories — delighting end users and clients alike. Stacy believes that clear, effective health communication has the potential to transform lives, combat health disparities, and empower people to take charge of their health. She's committed to helping CommunicateHealth's clients leverage equity-centered communication to create compelling evidence-based health campaigns and materials for diverse audiences.
Luciana Robledo
Luciana Robledo has a degree in Administration and is a Member of the Continuous Improvement Area of the Institutional Management Secretariat of the Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Argentina. She works together with teams and organizations on projects related to organizational analysis, consultancy and training.
Katherine Rojas Marin
Katherine Rojas Marin is a philologist and historian with experience in correcting and editing texts, and also teaches Spanish as a foreign language. She currently works as an Academic Coordinator at a language school.
Mônica Saraiva
Mônica Saraiva is a UX Writer and plain language expert at ÍRIS, the Innovation and Data Laboratory of the Governo do Ceará, Brazil. She is a member of PLAIN, Clarity, Linguagem Simples LAB and the following networks: Linguagem Simples Brasil, Linguagem Simples Ceará and InovaGov. She gives lectures and workshops on plain language and helped to draft and implement Brazil's first state law on plain language.
Elisa V. Seguí
Elisa Verónica Seguí has a degree in Spanish Language and Literature and a Master's Degree in Teaching Spanish as a Foreign Language from the National University of Córdoba (UNC). She teaches at ESCMB and the Faculty of Languages (UNC). She is a trainer of teaching and non-teaching staff at Argentine and foreign universities. She has directed the Spanish Program for Syrian and Haitian citizens with humanitarian visa of the UNC.She is the author of books on Spanish as L1 and L2 and co-author of the manual "Escribir textos administrativos en la UNC con perspectiva de género y lenguaje jurídico claro".
Chani Slabbert
Chani Slabbert (BA Information Design, Post-graduate Diploma in Business Administration, Certified Director®) lives in Johannesburg, South Africa. Over the past 12 years, she has completed numerous branding and communication projects for organizations in IT, financial services, and tourism. She currently develops Plain Language communication strategies and omni-channel customer experiences as an associate of the Plain Language Institute.
Sarah Slabbert
Sarah is an entrepreneur at the helm of two companies, BHI32 and The Plain Language Institute. BHI32 operates primarily within the water sector, focussing on research and development communication. The Plain Language Institute empowers organizations to enhance their communication by making it relevant, clear, and usable to stakeholders and consumers. Through tailored Plain Language training and a pioneering course on strategic plain language implementation in organizations via the international Plain Language Academy´s platform, she helps to champion the cause of effective communication. Sarah occupies several roles within the international plain language community, such as the Board membership of the IPLF and chairing the IPLF’s Certification Committee. She is a passionate advocate of the ISO plain language standard and believes in the transformative power of the standard to provide citizens and consumers with rightful access to crucial information.
Keun Young Sliedrecht
Keun Young Sliedrecht. She works as a Senior Researcher at HAN University of Applied Sciences (the Netherlands). She is interested in language and communication in institutional settings. She received a PhD-degree at VU University Amsterdam in 2014. Since then, she has worked both as a lecturer and as a researcher. In 2022 she started as a Senior Researcher at HAN where she is involved in several projects focusing on functional writing and/or communication (for example, in digital patient records). Recently, she participated in a multidisciplinary research project on plain language in government communication.
Charlotte Swart
Charlotte Swart. She is a User Experience Researcher at HAN University of Applied Sciences (the Netherlands). She has a bachelor’s degree in Interaction Design and now works with people who have a disability or have low literacy skills to make the digital world more user friendly. Her main interests are inclusive design, usability testing, and accessibility. Currently, Charlotte is exploring ways to include more people with low literacy skills in research projects. She recently participated in a study on plain language in government communication.
Pablo Talamoni
Pablo Talamoni is an attorney from the Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA), Argentina, and a journalist. A Doctor in Legal Sciences from the Universidad de La Matanza, he teaches subjects related to the right to information, freedom of expression and legal doctrine.
Marcela Teixeira Barbosa
Marcela Teixeira Barbosa Nascimento has a Bachelor of Arts (Portuguese/Literature) from the Universidade Fluminense Federal (UFF), Brazil, and a postgraduate degree in Portuguese Language and Literature from the Universidade Metodista de São Paulo. She is a university technical proofreader at the Universidade do Estado de Rio de Janeiro (Uerj), where she is involved in the project on "Plain Language: a right for users of public services", which adapts documents at the Production Center of the Uerj (Cepuerj) into plain language in order to facilitate access to information. She has worked on the planning, management and execution of projects for the Cepuerj and also regularly reviews texts.
Manuela Thourte
Manuela Thourte has a Master's in Administration and Public Policy from the Universidad de San Andrés and a degree in Political Science from the Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA) where she graduated with a Diploma of Honor. She worked for over ten years for international organizations such as the UNDP and UNICEF, and was responsible for Area of Rights Protection at the UNICEF office in Argentina. She was an advisor to the Chamber of Deputies of the Nation for the Bicameral Commission on the Rights of Children and Adolescents. She teaches a seminar on "Children and Adolescents as subjects of Public Policy" ad honorem at the Faculty of Social Sciences of the Universidad de Buenos Aires, and has since December 2019 been a lawmaker of the City of Buenos Aires legislature for the UCR Evolución bloc, where she presides the Commission on Education, Science and Technology.
M. Victoria Tuya
María Victoria Tuya is a sworn translator (Spanish-English), who graduated from the Universidad Católica Argentina (UCA), Argentina, in 1989 and has been a conference interpreter since 1996. She has worked independently for almost 30 years, specializing in the areas of legal, medicine and technology. She has a specialization in Scientific and Technical Translation from the Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, and has been certified by the Colegio de Traductores Públicos de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires (CTPCBA). She is a member of the American Translators Association (ATA), National Association of Judiciary Interpreters and Translators (NAJIT) and ITA. She has presented several papers at national and international conferences and regularly gives seminars on technological resources for translators in the fields of medical translation, legal translation, and professional marketing and job placement.
Angelika Vaasa
Angelika Vaasa. Manages quality at the translation services of the European Parliament. Her diverse background combines languages, interpreting, teaching, tourism and European Legal Studies. She actively contributes to the development of plain language and translation standards in ISO Technical Committee 37. As a quality manager, she believes in the value of standards and is excited to promote the use of the first plain language standard. In her free time, she enjoys exploring the world through travel and books.
Emilia Valle
Emilia María Valle is a Judge of the Superior Court of Justice of the province of Chaco, Argentina. She is Vice President of the Federal Board of Courts and Superior Courts of Justice of the Argentine Provinces and the City of Buenos Aires (Jufejus) and President of the Electoral Tribunal of the Province of Chaco. She is Director and Trainer of the Center for Judicial Studies and an Honorary Member of the Argentine Criminal Sciences Academy (Academia Argentina de Ciencias Penales - AACP). She is a Full Professor of the Clinical Legal Department of the Universidad del Chaco Austral. She was President of the Superior Court of Justice of the province of Chaco in 2019 and 2022. She was President of the Federal Forum of Councils of the Magistracy and Prosecution Juries (Foro Federal de Consejos de la Magistratura y Jurados de Enjuiciamientos - Fo.Fec.Ma). She was President of the Council of the Magistracy and Prosecution Jury of the province of Chaco and also Director of the Mediation Center. She has contributed as organizer, lecturer and panelist for numerous courses, congresses and conferences, and has served in the working groups developing the implementation of criminal procedure reforms. A Master of Laws in Magistracy and the Judicial Function, she graduated from the Universidad Austral with a gold medal for scoring the best average of her cohort. She received an award for the best thesis on legal dogmatics of her cohort. She holds postgraduate degrees in Criminal Law and Criminal Procedural Law. She joined the Chaco Judiciary on 09/28/84 as Clerk and later she served as Secretary, Official Public Defender, State Prosecutor, Investigating Judge, Guarantee Judge and Chamber Judge in Criminal Matters. She has received numerous distinctions, mentions and recognitions for the contributions made during her professional career.
Gabriela Vanni Arroyo
Gabriela Vanni Arroyo. She graduated in Social Communication with a qualification in Journalism from the Faculty of Architecture, Arts, and Communication (FAAC) of the São Paulo State University (UNESP) in 2017. She is a Specialist in Organizational Communication and Public Relations from the School of Communications and Arts (ECA) of the University of São Paulo (USP). She concluded the course in 2023 with a focus on studying “simple language in Brazil and its potential for transforming communication in organizations”. She has experience in the field of internal communication and is currently employed at Honda Automóveis do Brazil.
Silvia Vargas Víquez
Silvia Mercedes Vargas Víquez is a teacher and researcher at the Universidad de Costa Rica (UCR), specifically at the Faculty of Letters, School of Philology, Linguistics and Literature and the Institute of Linguistic Research. She is on the team working on the project covering plain language in the understanding of legal texts: language accessibility. She teaches courses for the Department of Linguistics, such as Spanish Morphology, Syntax, Oral and Written Expression. Her areas of interest include writing texts in the university environment, cohesion – in particular – and Spanish as a second language.
Carol Velandia
Carol G. Velandia Pardo CHI, PMP, MBA, LMSW is a University of Maryland Graduate Professor, language access advocate, keynote speaker, award winning curriculum developer and short film maker, and the founder and CEO of Equal Access Language Services. She Developed the Interprofessional Curriculum: Effective Inclusion through Language Access which will be taught to three different schools at the University of Maryland in Spring 2024. As a social worker, interpreter, academic, and entrepreneur, Carol’s mission is to make Language Access a priority for public and private services and expand the concepts of Cultural Competence and Diversity Equity and Inclusion by adding this critical concept as a key component. She is promoting a cultural shift that will drive the effective inclusion and outcomes improvement, as well as the equal access of Limited English proficient persons in public and private services, which in turn, will drive businesses and organizations growth and the improvement of our healthcare, justice, and education systems. She enjoys traveling, movies, connecting with people, and dancing flamenco!
Roxana Venútolo
Roxana Paola Venútolo is a sworn translator registered with the Colegio de Traductores Públicos de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires (CTPCBA) and is also a member of the Argentine Translators and Interpreters Association (Asociación Argentina de Traductores e Intérpretes - AATI). She is an expert translator and interpreter for the National Judiciary and has written and translated articles on legal translation and plain language for the journal of the CTPCBA, the legal journal Erreius and the PLAIN E-journal. She was a Speaker at the IX Conference of the Argentine Translators Federation.
Mariano Vitetta
Mariano Vitetta has an M.A. in Legal Translation (English-Spanish) and an LL.B. by the University of Buenos Aires, and an LL.M. in Comparative Law by Louisiana State University. He works as an assistant professor of law at Austral University School of Law, where he also heads the Law and Language Department.
Nicole Watkins Campbell
Nicole Watkins Campbell. Edits public legal, technical and government information and trains editors and writers to do the same. During 30 years with a provincial government, she clarified information on every topic imaginable.