Kathleen 
Managing director, interpreter, translator, coach – Australian/Canadian
Kathleen arrived in Germany from Queensland, Australia in 2009. Over the years, she has made and learned from just about every mistake it’s possible for a foreigner to make in Germany. Out and about, Kathleen noticed that everyone had a red tape horror story to share. She saw English speakers feeling discouraged and frustrated by the lack of help available in Germany. So Red Tape Translation was born in 2012.
As a qualified translator and interpreter, Kathleen specialises in real estate law, civil law contracts and of course, administrative law (the language of red tape!). She is recognised by clients and caseworkers as an expert in navigating German bureaucracy through interpreting, translation and expat coaching. Kathleen is a proud mama of two girls. She sometimes still moonlights as an opera singer.
Katie
Administrative assistant – British / German
After scooping up a Bachelor’s degree in French, Katie – ever the one to take a life-changing plunge – decided to move to Germany. Most people thought she was nuts, yet Katie just looks back blithely and says “sounds like the kind of thing I would do”. She hit the ground running, working and studying to replace the frothy French recitations of “papillon” and “bijoux” with the slightly more abrupt German utterances of “Schmetterling” and “Schmuck”. Along the way, she married a German (it happens to the best of us), had two delightful children and managed family life and 6 relocations in 3 different languages. Katie started working at Red Tape Translation in 2018 and takes diligent care of customer service, admin and billing. Her proudest personal bureaucratic achievement is obtaining German citizenship, which took 5 years, ca. 44 sheets of single-sided copy paper and nerves of steel. She is now a dual British/German citizen.
Sarah
Administrative assistant – Canadian / German
Sarah swooped in at the end of 2020 to help us manage our growing pile of daily administrative tasks. Since moving to Germany 16 years ago, Sarah has accumulated a fascinating wealth of experience in world and cultural heritage studies, museum exhibitions, events, research, administration, translation, proofreading and digital marketing.
Lioba
Coach – German
Lioba joined us in 2018 to help with administration and customer service and it didn’t take long before we figured out she was supremely talented at helping people and solving problems. The German actor, singer and intersectional feminist spent plenty of time in New York, Beijing and Nairobi and trained at New York Film Academy before moving to Berlin. She now coaches at Red Tape Translation and you’re very likely to hear her warm and gregarious voice on the end of the phone whenever you need help with freelance life, dealing with the Agentur für Arbeit/Job Center or joining the Künstlersozialkasse.
Brie
Social media marketing – American
Brie charmed us from the word go with her warmth, humour and infectious enthusiasm. An opera singer, she spends her time flitting between Berlin and various other cities in Germany, where she is highly sought after in opera theatres as an “Einspringer” – someone who jumps in and saves the show at the very last minute with superior quick study skills and nerves of steel. At Red Tape Translation, Brie‘s exceptional planning skills, creativity and unique performance talents lend themselves perfectly to social media marketing on various platforms, the communities for which she has developed lovingly from scratch.
Lucas
Translator and interpreter – German
Affectionately known within the Red Tape team as “the bureaucrat whisperer”, Lucas joined us in 2015. Since then, his clever interpreting skills and convivial personality have helped hundreds of expats achieve good outcomes at their public office appointments. He just has a way with people. He can shift the mood with the right turn of phrase and turn a hostile bureaucrat into a willing ally. As a translator, he’s speedy, accurate and reliable, and his work with Red Tape has accompanied him through university studies in political science, countless jobs and volunteer programmes and frequent bouts of spontaneous globetrotting. We’re always keen to hear of his adventures overseas and always equally happy to have him back in Berlin.
Macy
Freelance interpreter – American
Macy joined the team in early 2022 and quickly impressed her clients and colleagues with her “crystal clear translations” and warm and helpful nature. Originally from Iowa, USA, she has studied the German language in painstaking detail for over a decade and finds great joy in sharing her expertise and experience with newcomers to Berlin. Her love of languages extends to Swedish and German sign language, and she is highly sought after as a production assistant for shows and films. You’re likely to run into Macy accompanying Red Tape clients as an interpreter all over the city.
Kim W.
Freelance interpreter – American
Kathleen and Kim met each other when they were both enrolled in the same vocational training programme, the rigorous “Ausbildung zum Übersetzer / Dolmetscher” (interpreting and translating). Kim’s background in pharmacy and education makes her a diligent translator, particularly in the medical and technical fields. Kim speaks fluent English, Spanish and German and is only too familiar with the issues facing expats in Berlin from her own personal experience.