I work in the areas of commerce, health and beauty, arts and culture, literature, current affairs and the not-for-profit sector. I am also interested in translating for the travel and tourism sector. 

I have worked with a wide range of material including:

-         Official documents such as passports and certificates

-         Presentations

-         Product manuals and marketing handbooks

-         Information leaflets and festival programmes

-         Interviews and speeches

-         Subtitles

-         News articles

-         UN summary records and standards

-         A contemporary novel and the text for a non-fiction book

I began studying Russian in the mid-1980s. During this time I also made my first visit to what was the Soviet Union. It was an extraordinary opportunity to see the country just before the emergence of the new policies of glasnost' and perestroika. I went on to study Russian and Mandarin Chinese at the University of Leeds, with a semester studying Russian at the former Kiev State University (now Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv), Ukraine, in 1989.

My working life has seen roles in the commercial sector, including with the UK office of Ukrainian steel producer Azovstal, a venture capital company and the international office at Rolls-Royce plc. I took the Master’s in Interpreting and Translating at the University of Bath as a mature student in 2011-12.

Although it was the mystery of the Soviet Union which first prompted me to learn Russian, my fascination with the language and the region endures to this day. I have continued visit the region in the 30+ years since my first trip. From my first college and university stays in the mid-late ‘80s, I made return visits to Russia and Ukraine throughout the 1990s and early 2000s. Prior to embarking on my MA, I worked and studied in Ekaterinburg and Novosibirsk, travelling during that time to places such as Tomsk, Kazan, Tobolsk and Altai. I have also returned to Ukraine to visit Kyiv and Lviv and have spent time in Belarus and on the Black Sea region. My long connection with the Russian-speaking world, from the end days of the Soviet Union to the present, adds to my understanding not only of the language but the cultural, societal and political influences which are often hidden within the nuances of a text; my work experience prior to entering the translation profession means I have a broad range of life and work experience to draw on.