My name is Christelle Maignan and I’m from Cambridge, UK. I’ve been working as an English-to-French Translator for the past 15 years, freelancing since 2004. As a qualified Personal Performance Coach, I also offer one-to-one coaching sessions on Skype or over the phone to people who want to make positive changes in their lives. I’m passionate about helping translators achieve their goals and overcome challenges such as time-management issues, procrastination and lack of confidence, as well as improve their productivity, quality of life and general sense of fulfilment (www.coachingfortranslators.com).

I decided to attend this year’s ITI Conference in Newcastle because of its theme. “Renew, Rejuvenate, Regenerate” resonates both with my work as a coach and with the changes I’ve been experiencing as a translator over the past few years. I also had a fantastic time at the last conference in London, two years ago, as evidenced by my brief appearance with the line dancers in the 2013 video, and I simply wanted to repeat the experience – and perhaps wear another pink-glitter cowboy hat.

This year’s programme sounds very exciting, and I’m really looking forward to meeting new people in Newcastle, as well as people I’ve worked with in the past, some of whom I’ve never actually met in person. I’m particularly interested in the yoga workshop and the work-life balance presentation. Come and say hello if you’re attending them too!