The event promises to be highly informative and interactive. To start the morning, participants will explore critical Dos and Don’ts for starters and freelancers. This will be followed by Tales from the Trenches – advice and learning points from experienced SENSE members in a fun ‘talk show’ format hosted by our own Sense Chair Lesley Walker. The afternoon will include presentations on What Agencies Want and the all-important Customer Relationship Management…something every starter needs to know.

The 2010 SENSE Starters’ Day will take place on Saturday 2 October at the Park Plaza Hotel in Utrecht (just a short walk from the Central Station). The cost is €45.00 for SENSE members and €65.00 for non-members; this includes a delicious buffet lunch.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact the Professional Development Coordinator.

  Morning programme

10.00 – 10.15:  Welcome

10.15 – 11.15:  Dos and Don’ts for starters and freelancers

                    Anton Klop (HAN University of Applied Sciences)

11.15 – 11.30:  Break

11.30 – 12.30:  Tales from the trenches: How I got started, what I have learned along the

                    way and advice for others

                    Carla Bakkum, Lisa Dacosta, Billy Nolan, Cecilia Willems

12.30 – 13.30:  Lunch and time to mingle

   Afternoon programme

13.30 – 14.30:  Customer Relationship Management

                    Francis Cox

14.30 – 14.45:  Break

14.45 – 15.45:  What agencies want

                    Diane McCartney

15.45 – 16.00:  Closing discussion, with opportunity for drinks following

CARLA BAKKUM was born in the Netherlands, raised in the US and spent time in the Middle East and Scotland as an expat wife. She has been working as a freelance editor, translator and copywriter for the past 26 years. Straight out of college, she joined the editorial team that created the first edition of Van Dale’s Groot Woordenboek Nederlands-Engels. She developed into a language specialist in financial services and corporate communications, and the focus of her work is shifting towards writing and editing for corporate magazines. She has served seven years in the SENSE Executive Committee.

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Based in Amsterdam, FRANCIS COX has been a freelance English copywriter and translator for 12 years. He writes brochures, webpages, press releases, newsletters, presentations, direct mail and other business-to-business marketing materials for a broad range of clients.

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LISA DACOSTA was born in Birmingham in the United Kingdom and has been living in the Netherlands since 1996. After having worked for a translation office for a year, she went on to complete a bachelor's degree course in English translation. In 2008, she founded her own company, LiDa Language Services, and now works as a self-employed English language professional. She provides Dutch to English translation and English editing. 

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ANTON KLOP is Lecturer in Business Studies and Marketing at HAN University of Applied Sciences. He has lectured at the Radboud University Nijmegen and run his own consulting enterprise, the “Business Doctor.” He has served as a consultant for the Netherlands Chambers of Commerce, coached entrepreneurs and created presentations for both local and national media.

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DIANE McCARTNEY was born in California and raised in the French West Indies and Berlin, Germany. She held a variety of positions that involved analyzing business requirements, training, proofreading and translating before deciding to establish her own business. At Lancaster Cosmetics, she proofread packaging texts and product leaflets in French, German and English, and worked on product development and testing. At ASK Computer systems, she implemented MRP and later ERP systems at companies such as ABB, Pelican, Applied Materials and Advantest. She trained the companies’ employees on the new systems and their new way of working. She also worked the customer service desk. When ASK bought the Baan Triton software, she transitioned to the European Development Center where she developed the translation and localization strategy for all foreign language versions and trained software engineers on using the available localization tools. She held a similar position at i2 Technologies. Diane has been a freelance project manager and translator since 1997.  

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A qualified architect, BILLY NOLAN worked for ten years as a museum curator and ten years as an editor for a design magazine. He now edits and translates texts for clients in the fields of design, architecture and urbanism. He also teaches at the Academy of Architecture in Amsterdam.

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Having grown up speaking a Limburg dialect in a Polish neighborhood of Chicago, CECILIA WILLEMS has spent most of her life translating. After graduating from the Rijkshogeschool Opleiding Tolk-Vertaler (now part of Zuyd University) in 1992, she started getting paid for it. Before then, she studied comparative literature and worked as a museum guard, stock-market wire operator and personnel officer. Her career in translation has involved working on both sides of the great in-house vs. freelance divide, including more than 10 years as a partner in a translation agency. She also spent a six-year stint on SENSE’s EC (Member-at-Large and Handbook Coordinator). Cecilia now translates and edits for a variety of direct clients and agencies.