Kim Vitray, VP Operations
Kim Vitray joined McElroy Translation in February 1999 as project manager, and currently serves as vice president of operations and human resources administrator. She has a strong and varied skill set in human resources, technical documentation, and workflow management. Under her early leadership, McElroy solidified its human resources practices, developed its first electronic workflow system, localized its website into several languages, and incorporated translation memory technology into its workflow.
Kim grew up in north Alabama, the only daughter of an electrical engineer and a teacher. She earned a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance at the University of South Carolina in Columbia, followed by a Master of Music in Piano Pedagogy at the University of Texas at Austin. In Austin she met hubby Bob, fell in love with both Austin and Bob, and has lived there ever since.
Kim worked as a teaching and performing musician for several years before deciding to forgo the life of a starving artist. The next twelve years she spent at a medical and scientific publishing company in a variety of roles that included both production and sales and marketing management.
Over the years, Kim has taken on an active leadership role in the translation industry. She has been published several times in MultiLingual Computing and The ATA Chronicle; presented on operational and human resources topics at industry conferences; and served for six years as assistant administrator and then administrator of the Translation Company Division of the American Translators Association. Kim also holds SPHR (senior professional in human resources) certification from the Society for Human Resources Management.
More recently Kim has taken on leadership of McElroy’s project management office and continues to drive various strategic initiatives, including development of the company’s employee intranet, designing and automating its job costing mechanism, and pursuit of ISO 9001:2008 and WBENC certification. She looks forward to becoming a frequent contributor to the company’s brand-new blog and teaching workshops on behavioral interviewing.
Kim and Bob have been married for more than twenty years. Together they enjoy cycling, movies, travel, staying in touch with family and friends through e-mail and Facebook, trying new restaurants, and caring for their five cats. She is an avid reader of historical fiction and biographies and collects books about King Arthur. She also continues to be active in music, serving as choir director at her church and singing with the Austin Singers.