Judges

Victoria Cook is a plain language editor at Plain English Foundation in Australia. She is passionate about creating clarity through substantive editing and writing evaluations, and particularly enjoys document design. With experience in publishing and the corporate sector, Victoria has worked with some of Australia’s largest companies and government agencies. Her expertise ranges from training materials and e-learning to technical reports and major strategies. She holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in English from the University of Sydney.

Mark Cooney is a Professor at Western Michigan University Cooley Law School, where he chairs the Research & Writing Department. He is editor in chief of The Scribes Journal of Legal Writing and has served as a plain-language consultant on the Michigan Supreme Court’s Model Criminal Jury Instructions Committee and the State Bar's Standard Criminal Jury Instructions Committee. Professor Cooney’s book,Sketches on Legal Style, collects his “Plain Language” columns from the Michigan Bar Journal. His articles on legal writing have also appeared in The Scribes Journal, Student Lawyer, and TRIAL magazine. Before teaching, Professor Cooney spent ten years in private practice and chaired the State Bar’s Appellate Practice Section.

Jayne Dalmer is a writer, editor, and writing coach who lives in Indonesia. From Swahili to Samoan, Jayne Dalmer’s world of words hasn’t always been in plain English. Jayne was raised in England, Kenya, Singapore and New Zealand, and has also worked in Russia, Germany, Thailand, Samoa, Hong Kong and Indonesia. Combined with a degree in psychology and linguistics, Jayne’s love of language and other cultures drives her desire for all of us to understand and be understood. Jayne has worked as a writer and editor, communications expert, writing coach, and plain language consultant. She has a deep interest in cross-cultural communication.

Max Dietshe is a writer, editor and communications strategist with a focus on plain language and simplified communications. His 30 years' experience includes work on both the client and agency sides. He led a simplified-communications practice at Addison (New York City) for more than ten years, helping Fortune 50 companies speak clearly and consistently to their audiences. Currently, he is Director of Research and Strategy at Spring Studio (San Francisco). He holds a BA and an MA from Columbia University. Married with one child, Max enjoys yoga, surfing and the outdoors.

Beth Gaston is a policy analyst for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and teaches writing and leadership courses for the agency. She has been promoting plain writing throughout USDA and co-developed the department’s online “Introduction to Plain Writing” course. She also teaches federal-wide for the Plain Language Action and Information Network. Beth considers clear communication essential for any program or project to be productive. She believes plain writing leads to more effective government programs because it results in better collaboration with other government agencies, industry, nongovernmental organizations and private citizens.

Sonia is the Production Manager at Polaron Language Services, a language services provider based in Melbourne, Australia . She has managed over 1,000 translation and interpreting projects, many of them comprising up to 40 different languages. Over the last 3 years, she has been working closely with non-profit organisations and government bodies to help them be more creative and clear when communicating with diverse communities in Australia. Sonia holds an undergraduate degree in Translation and Interpreting studies and a Master’s degree in software and multimedia translations. She specialised in management of multilingual website translation projects and is a sworn translator and interpreter. Before moving to Australia from Spain, she was one of the founding members of a non-profit organisation aimed at improving social inclusiveness of the Arabic-speaking communities in southern Spain. Being very passionate about plain and accessible language for all, Sonia is always looking for new opportunities to develop her skills and make a difference.

Cherlin Varela was born and raised in Mexico City, Mexico. After several years spent living and studying in Spain, she relocated to the United States where later on, she officially became an American citizen. A student of culture and language, Cherlin obtained a bachelor’s degree in International Relations from George Mason University followed by a master’s degree in Spanish and Latin American Studies and a Certificate in Translation from American University in Washington, D.C; while at school, she decided to take a class in Consecutive Interpretation because she saw the growing need for interpreters in the D.C area. During her studies she received instruction from Harry Obst, White House Interpreter and former Director of the U.S. State Department’s Office of Language Services. After obtaining her interpretation certificate, Cherlin started working as a freelance Interpreter for Immigration Court in Arlington Virginia through Lionbridge Technologies and has accepted assignments for Immigration Court across the United States. She served as the Senior Interpreter in Immigration Court, Arlington, Virginia and currently serves as the Liaison for Lionbridge and Immigration Court in the D.C area. Cherlin has spent more than 12 years providing interpretation, translation, transcription and proofreading services for a variety of clients, including several government agencies, such as the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security and Justice. She obtained a Secret Clearance from Department of Defense and an Interim Clearance for Department of justice. Cherlin has also worked for several state and national law enforcement agencies as a Simultaneous Interpreter during international trainings, and seminars featuring government officials from Mexico and Costa Rica. Cherlin enjoys traveling, making new connections, and working to advance the practice of high-quality interpretation.

Appointed Director of Business Development and Special Events in January 2016, Mr. Vargas is responsible for creating strategic business development, brand positioning, integrated marketing, product placement within the private, public and government sectors. Prior to his promotion, Mr. Vargas served as Regional Business Development Executive. His primary responsibilities included strategic and integrated branding opportunities to drive revenue by building brand, ensured brand engagement, press coverage, field marketing, ad campaigns, viral videos, community relations, advertising and other events. Mr. Vargas joined the company in May 2008. Mr. Vargas spent 7 years in the Ad Agency world. As Marketing and Media Director at Suburban Hispanic Media in 2007 he was responsible for hiring, mentoring, and managing team that represent over 65% of division’s sales revenue. He managed the promotions department and other events. Developed strategies and budget recommendations, which required extensive knowledge of remote markets, media availability and coverage, and rate structures. Mr. Vargas is a graduate from University of Maryland, Robert Smith School of Business. Mr. Vargas is an active member of the community helping nonprofit organizations. He now resides in Gaithersburg, Maryland, with his wife and daughter.