For nearly a year, since we launched the latest Boulder County TRENDS Report, Marco Better has volunteered his time to provide Spanish translations of key findings about our county – from the state of education and the environment, to what’s happening in our economy, housing market and more.
“I learn a lot by reading the materials that I’m translating,” says the Boulder-based predictive analytics expert. He’s also a lecturer at CU Boulder’s Leeds School of Business – including Business Process Analytics, an MBA course, and Freshman Global Experience, an introduction to international business that culminates in a trip to Ecuador to visit businesses and meet with entrepreneurs.
“I also love language and the process of finding the best way to express an idea from one language to another. Beyond just being literal, the goal is to be as clear and native as possible.”
Marco was born in Ecuador, the grandson of European Jewish immigrants who were forced to leave Austria and Slovakia. “In Spanish, there are so many different ways of saying something depending on what country you’re from,” he says. “So I try to be as neutral as possible.”
Marco studied industrial engineering at Penn State, then returned to Ecuador to work. Eight years later, he brought his family to Boulder where he completed his MBA at CU Boulder. He returned to Ecuador again, but it was too late: he’d “fallen victim to Chief Niwot’s curse.”
“We made our way back to Boulder in 2002,” explains Marco, who then also completed a doctorate in operations research at CU Boulder. His interests in math, computer science and management science came together in his current emphasis on predictive analytics applied to workforce issues – from talent acquisition and management to demand forecasting, turnover and retention analysis, and workforce optimization and planning.
“Doing translations balances me out, and I’m looking to do more,” he says. Marco’s wife, Rossana, is also in the business of language as Director of Spanish Language Services for the Audio Information Network of Colorado (AINC). In addition to his TRENDS translations, Marco volunteers as a Spanish reader for AINC, and has translated a number of documents, speeches and promotional materials for other entities.
“Effective translation means being aware of your audience,” he says. “It’s my hope that the translations I provide help Latinos and other native Spanish speakers in Boulder County to better understand what’s available to them – and the good work that’s being done by The Community Foundation and local nonprofits to benefit everyone who lives here.”
Indeed, Marco’s efforts help The Community Foundation advance inclusivity in the way we reach out to all community members, especially on Facebook and other social media. And folks are taking notice. Most recently, we received this comment on Facebook: “Props where props are due … we’ve noticed the Community Foundation Serving Boulder County’s Spanish language posts and their impeccable vocabulary, grammar and syntax. They read with such fluidity, you’d think they were originally written in Spanish. This is how translation should work.” (Malinalli Language Consultants)
Gracias, Marco!
