The ION advantage is found in our people, our commitment to quality and on-time delivery, and our understanding of our clients’ needs. Our professional translators and editors are subject-qualified and work only into their native languages, to produce translations that are correct and accurate in substance, language, style, and cultural nuance.
We enjoy direct personal contact with our clients. We are large enough to provide a full range of language services in all major languages, yet small enough to keep our overhead low and our standards very high.
R. Blair Sly Principal
Having studied Japanese at Middlebury College in Vermont, and Doshisha University in Kyoto, Japan, Blair started his career as a translator for a government agency in Japan. He went on to work as a principal English translator for several Japanese companies in Tokyo and Osaka, and has published articles on translation in Japanese. Upon return to the US, he worked as a professional interpreter for American companies, interpreting negotiations, legal proceedings and televised news conferences. With experience in business development and management systems, Blair brings a comprehensive understanding of the legal and business fields to ION's management team.
Rob Sellin Principal
(currently on leave)
Rob has extensive experience in international trade and commerce, including over ten years as the founder and owner of the translation company OSTrans, LLC. Rob speaks fluent German, Spanish, and Portuguese and has studied in Germany and Mexico. He was a Peace Corps volunteer in Chile and a Peace Corps Director in Brazil. He graduated from Occidental College, majoring in languages and economics, and did graduate study at the University of Rhode Island. He is an active member of the Society for Technical Communication, and the Bioscience Forum. Rob co-authored the book Cross-Cultural Issues in Business Communication.
David Gamon, Ph.D. Senior Editor/Project Manager
David had a peripatetic Foreign Service upbringing in Martinique, Liberia, Swaziland, South Africa, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. He studied German literature at Reed College and the University of Tübingen and cognitive science at U.C. Berkeley, where he received his Ph.D. in Linguistics in 1997. He brings a strong background in publishing to ION Translations, having worked for 7 years as principal researcher and writer of a successful series of interactive brain research books as well as acting as contributing writer to a Bay Area-based science news and information e-mail subscription service and science education website. He has also served as principal translator for an American marketer of German educational science kits. Other recent projects have included books about the brain's construction of sensory reality, humor and the brain, psychopathy, and the evolution of language.
Rika Sonoda Senior Editor/Project Manager
Rika is from Saitama, Japan, and has studied and worked both in Japan and California. She received a B.A. in English literature from Seijo University in Tokyo, Japan, and a M.A. in linguistics from San Francisco State University. Rika is a certified teacher of English as a foreign language in Japan, and has authored high school English examinations for private companies. Previously, she co-translated a dictionary of English idioms into Japanese for a Japanese publisher.
Anne Peattie Editor/Project Manager
As an undergraduate at Lewis & Clark College, Anne studied German and Biology, spending her junior year studying abroad in Munich and her senior year completing an honors thesis on gecko adhesion. She received her PhD in Integrative Biology at UC Berkeley and went on to conduct two years of postdoctoral research in Cambridge, England, before returning home to her native California. With her background in biology and engineering research, Anne brings strong scientific and technical expertise to the ION team.
