Interpreter

My first gig as an interpreter was in March of 1992, and I got to interpret for none other than Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh. The circumstances of such chance encounter are described in detail in my book, Sua Majestade, o Intérprete, which came out in 2007. I was asked to mediate a conversation between the Prince Consort and the Speaker of the House in Brazil. I tried to dodge the bullet as I best could, to no avail.

Two weeks later, I was sitting across from the Princess of Thailand and soon thereafter the Prime Minister of Norway. In between, a procession of ambassadors came to present their credentials and spoke through me. I had become the personal interpreter to the Speaker of the House, who back then was also acting Vice-President of the Republic following the impeachment of President Collor.

I later quit my job at the Parliament and moved on to found my own translation agency. In the 16 years that followed, I got to interpret at countless multilingual events. I was also recruited by the IMF for missions in Africa, which I loved. In 2007, I put my career on hold and decided to get the right degree: Master of Arts in Conference Interpretation, from the Monterey Institute, in California. Upon completion of my studies, and having passed the rigorous U.S. State Department at Conference level, I relocated to Washington, D.C. and started freelancing for the organizations in the area. In September of 2010, I was appointed Chief Interpreter of the International Telecommunication Union, the oldest specialized agency of the United Nations. Since then, I have been living in Geneva, Switzerland, with my wife, our three children and Freddie, the family Yorkie.

Chief Interpreter, ITU, United Nations, Geneva (2010-2015)

Head, Conference Management Service, ITU, UN, Geneva (2014-2016)

U.S. Permanent Resident status based on “extraordinary ability” as a linguist.

Published author and speaker

Over 2,000 days of events as a conference interpreter

Contractor with State Department, IMF, OAS, PAHO, World Bank, IDB, ICC, ECLAC

Adjunct Professor at the Monterey Institute. Senior interpreter trainer

Former Head of Protocol and Public Relations at the Brazilian House of Representatives

Former Interpreter to the Speaker of the House and Vice-President in Brazil

Chief Interpreter / Ohio Univeristy MBA, Athens, OH, 1999-2010

Chief Interpreter for the Unimed Program, Ohio University, Athens, OH

Chief Interpreter, PIM-Unimed/Wharton School of Business, Philadelphia, PA, 2003/05

Chief Interpreter at the Brasilia International Film Festival; Brasilia, Brazil, 2005

Distinguished Speaker at the 50th ATA Annual Conference, New York City, 2009

Translation agency owner and Language Services executive for 16 years

Senior multilingual event planner and staffer

Senior proofreader, précis-writer and reviser at the Brazilian House of Representatives

Interpreting equipment distributor