As Course working languages vary with demand, the teaching faculty is made up of highly experienced and respected conference interpreters from the following pool of volunteers:

Tom Afton, (A-EN, B-FR, C-IT, DE, ES) B.S.(School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University); M.A. (Diplomatic Academy of Vienna); DEA (Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris); DEA (Université de Paris IX-Dauphine); DESS in Conference Interpretation (ESIT); AIIC, started his career as a freelance interpreter in 1987.  In 1990 he became a staff interpreter at the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in Paris, and has occupied his present position as Head of the Interpretation Division since 1994.  He is also a visiting professor at ESIT, Paris.

Patricia Arizu

Sally Bailey-Ravet, (A-EN, FR), Translation Degree (ISIT), Conference Interpretation Degree (ISIT), AIIC, began her career as a staff interpreter for IITA (International Institute for Tropical Agriculture) in Nigeria in 1989. She then worked as a freelance interpreter in Strasbourg and became a staff interpreter at the Council of Europe in 1997. She has been the Head Interpreter of the Council of Europe since 2007.

Loreto Bravo de Urquia, (A-ES, B-EN, C-FR) B.A. English and Spanish, Magna cum laude (Concordia University, Montreal); MA English Literature with distinction (OU); AIIC, has practiced translation and interpretation for over 20 years, including as senior translation reviser and interpreter at the OPCW, The Hague, where she went on to be Head of Conference Services from 1997-2006. She has taught and lectured on translation in Spain, and been actively involved in the work of professional associations representing translators and interpreters, both in her native Spain  (including as Secretary General of the APETI - Asociación Profesional Española de Traductores e Intérpretes), and as a member of the FIT (Fédération Internationale des Traducteurs) Bureau.  She is now freelancing from Madrid.

Marie Diur (A-French, C-English, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Swedish)
Maîtrise en langues étrangères appliquées (Université Toulouse-le-Mirail); DEA en littérature française, francophone et comparée (Université Bordeaux 3); Post-graduate Diploma in Conference Interpretation (PCL-London); has been a freelance interpreter since 1988 (working for UN agencies, the EU, and the private market) and became an AIIC member in 1992.  In 2001, she joined UN–New York as a Staff  interpreter, and has been Chief of the French booth at UN Vienna since 2008.  She has been a visiting examiner at different interpretation schools ( ISTI; MONS; ESIT; ISIT)

Christopher Guichot de Fortis, (A-EN, B-FR, C-ES) Ph.D.(Cantab); PDLS; BACI; M.A. in Conference Interpretation (University of Bath); AIIC, a graduate of St. John’s College, Cambridge, served initially for 9 years in the British police. He has been a NATO staff interpreter since 1988. As NATO Senior Interpreter, he has for many years run the Headquarters training programme for interpreting students, he also organizes volunteer interpreting teams for several NGOs, including Emmaus International.  Chris lectures and teaches widely on conference interpreting theory, techniques and skills. He is a visiting professor and external examiner at ISTI Brussels, ILMH Brussels, EII Mons and the University of Bath, and has also taught and examined at ISIT, Paris and the UCO, Angers, France.

Ute Kirstein, (A-DE, B-EN, C-FR), Diplom Übersetzer (specialization: int’l law) and Diplom Konferenzdolmetscher (Heidelberg University, including time at Herriot-Watt University and ESIT, Paris); AIIC,  started her career working as a staff interpreter for the German Federal Government in Bonn before leaving to work as a freelance interpreter.  As such, she has worked for international organizations (WHO, OSCE, UNV, CoE, UN, EPO), the British and German governments, NGOs, multinationals (Bayer, BASF, DaimlerChrysler, Pirelli, etc.), and international banks and investment funds, specializing in technical subjects such as patent law, genetic engineering, biochemistry, and finance.  Since 2005 she has been the Head of Interpreting in the European Patent Organization, where she has developed a quality assessment system for freelance interpreters, and headhunted talented young interpreters. 

Beatriz Leboulleux del Castillo, (A-ES, B-EN, C-FR), Maîtrise de Droit (Université Paris-II, Assas) ; DESS in Conference Interpretation (ESIT) ; AIIC, started her career working as a staff interpreter for INTELSAT.  After three years, she moved to Barcelona, where she freelanced for seven years before moving to the European Court of Justice for two years as a staff interpreter.  Currently, she works as a freelance interpreter in Madrid, working for the ECJ, European Commission, the Council of Europe, the Spanish Government and the private market.  She has also taught at the interpretation school in Angers, and is currently the Spanish council member to AIIC.

Almute Löber, (A-DE, B-EN) Diploma in Interpreting and Translating  (Cologne University of Applied Sciences); AIIC, began her career interpreting for the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation & Development and has been a freelance interpreter since 1986.  She is now a partner at b and l language partners.  A lecturer on interpreting and public speaking in Cologne in 1989-90, Almute has worked for the government, corporate boards, German TV, and as head interpreter for large teams during major freelance assignments in Europe and the US. Areas of specialisation include: pharmaceuticals, patent litigation, automotive engineering, and depositions.  She was also the ombudswoman for junior interpreters in AIIC Germany.

Claudia Martin-Stern, (A-IT, B-EN, C-DE, ES, FR) B.A., Political Science (University of Oregon) Phi Beta Kappa; Political Science (Institut des Hautes Etudes Internationales); Translator’s Degree (E.T.I.), Conference Interpreter’s Degree (School of Interpreters, Zurich); DüV; AIIC, has lived in North America and Europe while teaching and interpreting as a freelance. Her clients include EU Institutions, the Canadian Government, the Swiss Government and Parliament, courts, and the private market. She has taught at both E.T.I., Geneva and the Zurich interpreting school.

Lina Pekler (A-EN/RU, C-FR) DESS in Conference Interpretation (ESIT, Paris); AIIC, started as a freelance interpreter in Paris in 1991.  During her freelance career, clients included International Organizations such as the UN, NATO, UNESCO, and the OECD, as well as private clients.  She taught interpretation at ESIT for eight years, and was a member of the AIIC professional delegation in Paris.  In 2004 she accepted a staff position with the UN in Nairobi.

Julia Poger, (A-EN, B-RU, C-FR), M.A.C.I. (Monterey); ATA; AIIC, has been a freelance interpreter since 1987, interpreting in fields including legal, nuclear, oil and gas, environment, business, and space.  As a long-time bi-active contractor with the U.S. State Department, she has worked extensively at Presidential and Cabinet levels in two administrations.  In Europe she freelances for the OECD, UNOG, UNESCO, OPCW, the Council of Europe, and the private market.  She trains court, community, and conference interpreters in consecutive interpretation and marketing techniques, and is visiting professor and examiner at MIIS Monterey, ISTI Brussels and EII Mons, ISIT Paris, and the University of Bath.

Claudia Ricci (A-IT, B-EN/ES, C-FR/PT); Post-graduate degree in Conference Interpretation (Westminster); Degrees in Parliamentary/Court/Community Interpreting (Bologna); AIIC;  freelances for the ECJ, the European Parliament, DG SCIC, the Council of Europe, private clients and PCOs.  She works as a consultant interpreter for one of Italy’s largest expo centers, as well as for PCOs and convention bureaus, and is the Italian member of Calliope, the first global network of consultant interpreters.

André Scialom, (A-FR, B-EN, C-IT); DESS in Conference Interpretation and Translation (ESIT), AIIC, served for ten years as staff interpreter, translator-reviser and instructor for interpreters-in-training with the Canadian Federal Government (Parliamentary Services). He later worked as freelance interpreter and translator based in Ottawa and Paris, specialising in interpreting for television.  He has interpreted at several G7 Summits, and is currently Chief of the Linguistic Service at the NATO Defence College (NDC), Rome.

Gisela Siebourg, (A-DE, B-FR, C-EN) "Interprète parlementaire" diploma (E.T.I. - University of Geneva); AIIC, started her interpretation career at the European Economic Community.  She became a staff interpreter in the German Foreign Office in 1962, an AIIC member in 1965, and was President of AIIC from 1986-1991.  In 1992 she was appointed Head of Language Services of the Auswärtiges Amt.  She retired in 2002, and is now consulting with International Organizations on methods of improving the delivery of interpretation services.

Olivier Wittezaële, (A-FR, B-EN), Licence LLCE d’anglais (Université de Versailles-St-Quentin-en-Yvelines), MPhil (Glasgow), PhD (North-West University, South Africa); began his career as a freelance interpreter and university lecturer in interpreting studies. While in South Africa, he conducted research on the social uses of interpreting, and contributed to the development of the interpreting community via the South African Translators’ Institute. He currently works as staff interpreter at NATO Headquarters in Brussels, and is part of the young interpreters’ training initiative there.

Alexander Žigo, (A-DE, B-EN, C-FR, IT, ES) degrees in translation and interpretation (School of Interpretation and Translation, Vienna University); Georgetown University; AIIC, started his career as a freelance interpreter and translator, then worked as a staff translator and interpreter in a patent attorney's office (1993 - 2001). In 2002 he accepted a staff position at what is now the Vienna Center for Translation Studies. He interprets for the private market, government institutions and international organizations such as the OSCE, the Council of Europe, and the United Nations.