Women in Localization Announces 2025 President and Board
SUNNYVALE, California, USA, January 9, 2025. Women in Localization (W.L.), the leading professional organization for women in the localization industry, is proud to announce Anna N. Schlegel continues as Women in Localization’s President for 2025.
Cecilia Maldonado is returning to serve as Vice President for 2025 while leading the Operations & Metrics Program. Returning Board Members include Allison McDougall (Global Sponsorships), Madhu Sundaramurthy (Global Community), Maria Jesus de Arriba Diaz (Chapters), Winnie Heh (Secretary), Olga Beregovaya (Technology), Jill Goldsberry (Global Partnerships and Events), Olga Blasco (Marketing), and Carrie Fischer (Global Growth and Diversity).
Women in Localization co-founder Silvia Avary steps down from the Board, but will stay as an Advisory Board Member, while Lina Eliachova will be replacing her as the Treasurer of the organization. Continuing in their advisory roles for 2025 are Fabiano Cid (Diversity), W.L. co-founder Eva Klaudinyova (Non-Profit), Gary Muddyman (Growth, Non-Profit work in Africa), and Maria Kania (Industry Presence).
Vice President Cecilia Maldonado is grateful for the opportunity to continue to serve and work with W.L.’s amazing Program Directors: Daniela D’amato, Manon Debuire, Vanessa Prolow, Susan Morgan, Agustina Pioli, and Jennifer Vela. We would like to thank the hard work of Viviana Bernabe and Margarita Nuñez who step down in 2025, and we welcome new Program Directors Debora Weirich (Partnerships/Events), Domi D’Agostino (Global Growth and Diversity), and Silvia Granzo (Technology). Edith Bendermacher is stepping down as Program Director, but continues to serve Women in Localization as Chapter Manager for the Silicon Valley.
“In 2024, our organization reached new heights, mentoring more women, expanding our global footprint, and initiating a comprehensive three-year plan to fortify our programs and infrastructure,” says Cecilia Maldonado. “As the Operations & Metrics leader in a volunteer-driven organization, we focused on streamlining and automating key processes for recruitment, succession, and offboarding. Looking ahead, our priorities include enhancing volunteer engagement and training while advancing our Metrics division to provide robust insights. This improved framework will empower data-driven decision-making, simplify growth strategies, and maximize our impact. By building stronger foundations and fostering leadership, we are paving the way for a brighter, more inclusive future.”
During Anna Schlegel’s time as 2024 President, W.L.’s Global Community team launched MentorEase, the organization’s mentoring platform. W.L. currently has over 90 pairs of mentor/mentee pairs, reflecting how members of the localization community want to give back to those seeking mentoring. Other 2024 accomplishments include executing new strategies to better communicate with sponsors, volunteers, and members, and new training processes that bring new volunteers up to speed faster.
“It is an honor to be re-elected as President of such a groundbreaking and industry-leading organization,” Schlegel says. “My promise is to continue to find ways to help women in our profession by talking to as many of them as possible, and connecting them with W.L.’s scalable, global programs such as our job board, mentorships, local gatherings, and global expansion. Our mission is to help as many women as possible.”
In 2025 W.L. plans to focus on rapid but very intentional growth. Under Schlegel’s new Presidency, there will be a specific emphasis on Africa and Australia.
“It’s an exciting time for Women in Localization as our base grows exponentially every single day and our processes are solid and constantly evolving like a well-oiled machine,” says Schlegel. “We are 16 years old and have become the strongest localization platform, engine, and innovation incubator in the world, and we have no intention of stopping.”
About Women in Localization
Women in Localization (W.L.) was founded in 2008 by Silvia Avary-Silveira, Eva Klaudinyova, and Anna N. Schlegel, and is the leading professional organization for women in the localization industry with over 14,000 members registered globally and more than 28,500 followers on LinkedIn around the globe. Its mission is to foster a global community for the advancement of women and the localization industry. It aims to provide an open, collaborative forum where women can share expertise and experience and help each other move forward in their careers. Started in the San Francisco Bay Area, W.L. has expanded its membership to include women across the globe, encouraging members to meet in other local geographies. To learn more, visit www.womeninlocalization.com. You can also follow W.L. on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.