Key Personnel

At the core of Language Connections is our team of experienced Project Managers and Account Managers. They are consummate professionals with a mission to deliver your projects on time and on budget. They strive to exceed your expectations on all levels, including cost, accuracy and timeliness.

A veteran translator and U.S. State Department interpreter with years of experience in international business, Leo founded Language Connections in 1993. Over the years the company grew into a multi-service translation and interpreting agency with capacity for handling large contracts involving all major languages of the world. Currently, Language Connections serves clients and their audiences in over 100 languages: it provides interpreters for conferences and high-level meetings in all parts of the globe, translates and localizes marketing, technical, medical and legal materials to help companies enter international markets, and collaborates with medical and charitable organizations both nationally and worldwide. Leo's experience, open attitude and sincerity have earned him a great reputation among the company's clients and professionals in the field. His multifaceted educational background in engineering, business administration and linguistics allows him to have a particularly good understanding of his clients' perspectives and requirements. Respected for his integrity, competence, and forthright business practices, Leo demands exceptional attention to clients' needs from his linguists and staff. Leo has been a member of the American Translators Association since 1996 and a Board Member of the US-Russia Chamber of Commerce of New England (www.usrccne.org) since 2005.

Frédérique joined Language Connections as a Project Manager in May 2006. She handles multilingual projects for clients in the pharmaceutical industry and time-sensitive materials for clients in the defense and health industries. Her extensive experience in translation and localization allows her to capably handle complex projects that involve over 20 languages. Frédérique's experience in Europe and the United States has provided her with a unique understanding of people and cultures. She studied finance and international trade in France , where she was born and raised. Although originally drawn to the import/export business, Frédérique's career took a different path shortly after she moved to the United States . Driven by her strong passion for languages, she accepted a full-time position with a leading advertising agency, where she was put in charge of localizing their entire suite of software packages and documentation for the French-speaking markets. Subsequently, she has worked as a French translator, Technical Writer, Software Localization Specialist, Localization Project Coordinator, and Quality Assurance Specialist both on the client and the agency side. Frédérique's strong track record shows her commitment to seeing a project through from beginning to end, making sure it is delivered on time and with the utmost quality. Frédérique lives in Cambridge , Massachusetts and enjoys spending time with her young son and cooking crêpe dinners for her friends. Her native language is French, she is fluent in English and has basic knowledge of Spanish, German and Italian.

Karen's unique background - one which combines expertise in biotechnology and life sciences with a keen interest in language and culture - makes her an invaluable member of the team at Language Connections. Born in the US and raised in Greece, Karen completed her undergraduate studies at Boston University, studying both biology and Spanish literature. She went on to complete an MS at the Medical College of Pennsylvania, where her research focused on vaccination against the dengue virus. While pursuing a career in microbiology, she remained active both in translation and language instruction, as well as distinguishing herself by means of her writing ability. Her years of work in the biological research, both as a student and as a professional, allowed her to develop an extensive set of skills, thanks to which she is a capable writer and presenter on an array of topics related to the life sciences. Combined with her experience as a translator and educator, she consistently assists the translators and project managers with whom she interacts by keeping them up-to-date on developments in biotechnology and the pharmaceutical industry. The extensive knowledge she contributes has made Language Connections a top competitor when it comes to translation of clinical trials and pharmaceutical materials.

Abigayle joined Language Connections as a Project Manager in March 2012. She was born and raised in New England, but realized she had a passion and aptitude for foreign languages at a very young age. She actively pursued an education in languages throughout high school and went on to study them at McGill University, where she majored in Middle Eastern Studies with a double minor in East Asian Languages, and Hispanic Literature. Her passion for languages, coupled with an ardent passion for culture and people, has brought her to many parts of the world including China (where she spent a summer semester studying Mandarin), Spain, Peru, Quebec, and Morocco. Amidst the projects she manages at Language Connections are simultaneous and consecutive interpreting projects for multi-lingual conferences, executive education projects, court cases, business meetings, and American Sign Language assignments. Each assignment is unique in the challenges it presents and language combinations that are encountered along the way, but the valuable and international connections gained through managing these projects is a challenge eagerly solved. Abigayle enjoys reading (anything), thought-inducing films, and exploring new places.

Kirill Grushko joined Language Connections in November 2010. A graduate of the Moscow State University for the Humanities, Kirill holds a degree in World Literature and History, his main interest lying in the field of literary and scientific translation. Coming from a family of literary translators, Kirill evolved as a professional English-Russian-English translator, editor and interpreter for various educational institutions, publishers and businesses. His extensive knowledge of world history and cultures along with excellent communication skills allowed Kirill to build on his experience, successfully manage translation/interpreting projects worldwide and find a new home in Boston, MA. Kirill believes that efficient and result-focused project management is key to building productive long-term business relationships with clients and brings a can-do attitude and customer focus to the Language Connections team. Kirill is a native Russian speaker, fluent in English, has basic knowledge of Spanish and working knowledge of Latin.