Donna Turkish Seifer, M.A.

• I have been a Russian<>English interpreter / translator in diplomatic, legal, medical & social service spheres since 1974. I provide certified professional translations of legal documents, academic transcripts and vital records for individual clients, for local employment and human resources agencies with Russian-speaking clients and continue to work as an on-call Russian<> English interpreter.

• I have interpreted for Russian and American dignitaries, artists and civic leaders, specialized travel groups; consulted on film and television productions on Russian/Soviet society; coordinated exchanges of political leaders, business executives, performing artists and educators and conducted seminars on Russia for educational, governmental and non-profit organizations.

• While working for a Portland law firm I escorted auditors on visits to remote logging camps and port facilities in the Russian Far East and translated the "Rules of Forest Harvest in the Russian Far East." With training in OSHA-based Industrial Safety, I prepared and delivered bi-lingual safety curriculum at local industrial sites with Russian-speaking employees. In 2007 I worked on subtitle continuity at the Ostrov Studio in Moscow of Russian documentarist, Sergei Miroshnichenko. I recently translated the "Elite Catalog" on the website of Marco Polo Designs into Russian.

• I have traveled throughout Russia and the former Soviet Union over 40 times since 1971 in academic research and cultural exchange. My research in Soviet / Russian cinema has included attending Moscow International Film Festivals, interviewing directors, a monograph on Russian filmmaker Nikita Mikhalkov and ongoing documentary videography on life in Russia. As president of the Portland-Khabarovsk Sister City Association, I managed a $35,000 grant from the US Department of Educational & Cultural Affairs to foster consumer waste recycling in Khabarovsk using the experience of Portland eco-specialists. I work with the Russian-speaking community in the Portland metropolitan area and serve on the planning committee of the Russian Youth Leadership Conference.

• Born in Detroit, Michigan of Belarusian heritage, I majored in Russian & English at the University of Michigan. I have been teaching Russian language, literature, society and culture in public and private schools since 1967. I taught English to Russian Old Believers in Woodburn, Oregon several years before I established the Russian Program at Lewis & Clark College in 1977, where I taught Russian language and culture at all levels until 2007. I am now a Russian curriculum consultant for the Portland Public Schools.

EDUCATION:
• BA Russian Language and Literature, English, Secondary Teaching Certificate, University of Michigan 1966
• MA Russian Language and Literature, University of Oregon 1988
• Advanced Professional Training in Russian Linguistics, Pedagogy, Literature & Culture, Moscow State University 1979, 1981, 2006