A Tale of Language, Leadership, Life and Community with Edwin Trebels
Edwin Trebels
Translations Director, Philadelphia Church of God
The Draft That Went to Print
Edwin Trebels is the Translations Director at Philadelphia Church of God, a global nonprofit. He directs a localization department that translates from English into ten languages, working with five full-time employees, ten part-time production staff, and 53 pro bono linguists from around the world. In 2023, his team translated and published about four and a half million words and interpreted about two million more.
Early in his career, Edwin made the mistake that shaped everything that followed. He handed a book to a production assistant and said it was ready for the printer. It was not. It was a draft: a messy combination of English and the target language, unfinished, and nowhere near publishable. An audience member handed the printed copy directly to the CEO. The conversation that followed was serious but merciful, and it taught Edwin a lesson he has carried for nearly 20 years: double check everything, do not trust yourself, and take ownership so there is a path forward rather than a room full of people pointing fingers.
Working with 53 Linguists from Around the World
Edwin's volunteer linguists come from the communities they serve and typically live in the countries whose languages they translate. This means they are deeply aware of local sensitivities and cultural context. But working across so many cultures has been one of Edwin's biggest learning experiences. People from Austria approach meetings very differently from people in South America. Some cultures want to get to the point quickly. Others want to start with a joke. Understanding those differences is as important as the translation itself.
He uses the term interdisciplinary cross-pollination to describe what happens when you learn from one discipline and apply it to another. Translation, he argues, is the discipline where this applies most of all, because you are constantly applying different ways of thinking and different cultural emphasis to the same content.
Toyota Kata and Continuous Improvement
Edwin is studying the Toyota Kata method, a process management approach from the car industry that focuses on continuous improvement by breaking production into small steps, identifying where the process is failing, and experimenting toward greater quality. The method, described by Mike Rother in his book Toyota Kata and by Jeffrey Liker in The Toyota Way, has respect for people baked into its core.
Edwin applies it to localization by building processes where linguists can enjoy their work rather than being pushed to the point of stress and error. Context switching, back-to-back meetings, and constant pressure are where mistakes creep in. He schedules balance deliberately: time for deep work, time for rest, time with people. The goal is not just productivity but the highest quality possible, which only comes when people are not pushed to their limits.
Communities Are Built by People Who Feel Part of Something Bigger
Edwin closes with a quote from Suzanne Goldsmith that he paraphrases: communities are not built of friends or groups with similar styles and tastes, or even people who like and understand each other, but of people who feel they are part of something bigger than themselves. His point: translation is not just about words. It is about the ideas being shared. The real question is not how to sell more products but how to build meaningful relationships and help each other thrive.
Beyond Translation: The Native Experience Podcast is produced by LEXIGO, Australia's trusted translation and multicultural communication agency.
Beyond Translation: The Native Experience Podcast explores multicultural communication, translation, and culturally diverse engagement in Australia and beyond. Each episode features experts sharing real stories and practical insights on topics from multicultural campaign strategy to CALD community engagement and localisation best practices. Produced by LEXIGO, Australia's trusted translation and multicultural communication agency with triple ISO certification and NAATI certified translators across 171 languages.
Edwin: I saw a really great quote the other day. It was from Suzanne Goldsmith. She said something like, communities are not built of friends or groups within similar styles and tastes, or even people who like and understand each other, but they are built of people who feel they are part of something that is bigger than themselves. So that is also an interesting one, because it is like, okay, what is actually important, what is it that is truly important?
Brian: Today we are talking with Edwin Trebels, Translations Director at Philadelphia Church of God, a global nonprofit. Edwin directs the localization department, which offers localization from English into nine languages. In 2023, his team translated and published about four and a half million words and interpreted about two million words. Edwin, welcome to The Native Experience.
Edwin: Thanks for having me on, Brian.
Brian: The correct pronunciation is Edwin Trebels?
Edwin: Yeah, that is the Dutch pronunciation. Most people just call me Edwin Trebels.
Brian: Tell us about yourself and what you are nerding out on right now.
Edwin: I am Dutch but I have lived in several countries, so I sound a bit American. I am in the UK now for the second time. I have been in the localization industry for 19 years. I studied sports science and then liberal arts. I speak Dutch as my first language, then English, and studied German and French in high school. I have been studying Toyota Kata, the ways of process management in the car industry and how they improve upon their processes constantly and help coach people.
Brian: How do you stay focused with so many interests?
Edwin: I have learned over the years to isolate myself more. Naturally I am more of an extrovert. I enjoy talking to people, but I have learned the value of isolation. I have my do not disturb on, headset on even if I am not playing anything, trying to really focus deeply. Blocks of time, scheduling meetings with yourself. Rather than having back-to-back meetings, also scheduling time out for important projects.
Brian: Tell us what you do at Philadelphia Church of God.
Edwin: I am the localization department director. We do all sorts of things: videos, magazines, literature, podcasts, blog posts. We go from English to ten different languages. We have five full-time employees, ten part-time, mostly in production. What is interesting about the linguists is that they are pro bono, assisting us from the community as volunteers. But we still set them up with a very high level of quality. Some people are very good at editing. Others are not as familiar with editing but still want to help, and we find the right place for them in the process.
Brian: How are you localizing with different countries and cultures?
Edwin: All these folks tend to come from the countries that speak those languages. They are native speakers and they typically live in that country. They are very up to date with what is going on and all the sensitivities. We can adjust appropriately.
Brian: Any interesting learning moments?
Edwin: Working with all our linguists. They are all lovely people but very different. When I work with people from Austria, it is a very different experience from working with people from South America. There is a different emphasis on what people find important. One culture likes to get to the point quicker, others enjoy starting the meeting with a joke. That is probably one of the biggest learning experiences, working with 53 linguists from all over the world.
Brian: Any crazy localization or translation stories?
Edwin: I made a big mistake. We had made a book. Thankfully it was a low circulation situation, a little local printer. I had given it to one of our production assistants and said this is done, please send it to the printer. They did. What ended up happening was an audience member handed it to the CEO and said, this is the product your guys have produced. It was awful. The whole combination of English and the target language. It was not finished. It was a draft. The worst localization job you could think of.
Edwin: Thankfully there was a lot of mercy and they understood what had happened. Ever since then, almost 20 years ago, I have always double checked everything. I try to train people the same way. Double check, do not trust yourself, take ownership in the right way. If you take ownership, we can resolve it and move forward. You do not want to get into a situation where everyone is pointing fingers and nothing gets resolved.
Brian: What is the impact when something goes out incorrectly?
Edwin: It depends on the domain. We work in religion, which is incredibly impactful because we are talking about a belief system. A mistranslation can cause an unbelievable course of action. We also work in archaeology. When we publish excavation sites, that has to do with how history is understood. That is like putting a price on items in a museum. They are priceless. When you are dealing with high-impact content, you really have to learn your lesson in double checking.
Edwin: I talk a lot with our linguists about being balanced. Not constantly pushing yourself to the limit because that is when errors creep in. I try to build our processes so there is a balanced situation where people can enjoy their work. They are very productive but not pushed to where they are stressed out or doing a lot of context switching. We are trying to reduce all of that to produce the highest quality possible.
Brian: Tell us more about Toyota Kata.
Edwin: Toyota Kata is really interesting. Mike Rother wrote the book Toyota Kata. Jeffrey Liker wrote The Toyota Way. There are ways you can practice continuous improvement in a very practical way. A lot of it overlaps with education. There is a way to help other people understand things without giving them the answer every single time. In practical form, it boils down to what is the process we follow to produce products. You constantly look at the process. You build it out just like a car is manufactured on a continuous loop, everybody adding value at different steps. You break it down. When you break it into small enough steps, you can see where the process is failing or could be improved.
Edwin: Sometimes people are not close enough to the process. In the car industry, they will have senior leaders work right on the production line with a small team. They say, try to find improvements. The coach will tell them, you found seven things but this other team found twenty. Why? They are constantly teaching them, having them observe, having them walk around. If you are in an office somewhere distant, that is not going to be great. Quality is not made in an office in a distant place. It is made on the floor. You have to go there and see what is actually happening.
Edwin: One thing I am learning is not to be afraid of the truth. Not being afraid of uncertainty. You want to understand what is actually happening versus what the supposed plan is. You want to experiment towards more certainty and greater quality rather than being afraid of uncertainty and never trying to improve.
Brian: What advice do you have for providing a native experience?
Edwin: What would happen if we all spoke the same language? People would still be different. They would still think differently. They would still put emphasis on certain ideas and concepts more than other people would. It is important to understand how people actually think and what is important to them and what the differences and opportunities are.
Edwin: It is not just the words being used. It is the ideas being shared. Communities are not built of friends or groups with similar styles and tastes, or even people who like and understand each other, but of people who feel they are part of something bigger than themselves. What is truly important? Is it just to sell products and get more money, or is it to build meaningful relationships while providing opportunities for one another? How can we help each other thrive rather than bringing others down? That is a higher level than simply translating words.
Brian: Edwin, thank you. This was a great conversation.
Edwin: Thanks for that. Appreciate the opportunity.
Brian: Edwin Trebels, Translations Director at Philadelphia Church of God. Remember, always strive for authenticity and embrace the power of native experiences.