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Dragana Kragulj

Managing Director

Dragana Kragulj founded Speak. ESL and Translations in 2014 after working for many years as a translator and ESL instructor within the banking industry, wanting to build a company of her own that would provide quality translation and ESL instruction within this and other industries.

In 1998, Dragana enrolled at the University of Alberta, Dept. of Linguistics in her home town, wishing to study English language and literature. After spending that same summer in Belgrade, she decided to remain in Serbia and enrolled at the University of Belgrade, Faculty of Philology, Dept. of English Language and Literature. She later moved on to obtain a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration in Public Relations. She is an ESL Teacher, licensed by the TESOL Global Institute in Edmonton, Canada where she was born and raised.

Dragana has over 11 years’ experience in translation, 9 of which are in the banking sector and is a certified translator of Serbian to UK/US English, specialised in banking, finance, auditing, and business translation with emphasis on localisation and quality assurance (QA). She is a ProZ Certified Pro (translation) and an English proof reader and copywriter (native speaker). She has over 16 years’ experience teaching ESL to adults, including preparing students for FCE, CAE and CPE exams.

Dragana has been living in Belgrade for nearly two decades and is raising two bilingual children. In her free time, she enjoys travelling to neighbouring European countries, taking in all that the various cultures have to offer.

Katarina Dupalo

Expert Linguist

Katarina Dupalo has a Bachelor’s Degree in Chinese language and literature which she completed at the University of Belgrade, Faculty of Philology in 2003. Her love of languages and cultures led her to obtain the Certificat Intermédiaire en Français, Advanced Business English Certificate, followed by the CPE (Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English) by 2009.
She continued her professional development by attending a one-year long seminar designed for translators and court-sworn interpreters in 2010 organised by the Association of Scientific and Technical Translators of Serbia. In 2011, she completed a Master’s Degree at Alfa University obtaining the title of Marketing and PR Manager. In 2015, she completed a six-month course in writing and court interpretation held in Belgrade.

For over 10 years she taught individual and group ESL classes, she also taught FCE, CAE and CPE preparation. From 2004 to 2008 she lived and worked in China, teaching ESL in both primary and private schools. Her career is now focused on translation, where she sees herself in future.
She began collaborating with Speak. at the start of 2018 as a freelance ESL teacher and from October of 2018 she became a member of Team Speak.

She is passionate about language, travel, reading and has several pets whom she adores.

Vera Matijević

Project Manager

Vera Matijević is in her final year of university, studying at the University of Belgrade, Faculty of Philosophy, Department of Sociology. Although unexpectedly, while working for Speak. she discovered quite a strong bond between the field of translation and her subject of study, especially in terms of cultural sociology and linguistics.
She started with Speak. in June of 2016, working as our Office Coordinator where she was in constant contact with professionals living in different countries, with varying habits and personal and work-related customs. She has always been capable of finding common ground with others, thereby securing timely and quality translations. For almost three years she successfully coordinated and communicated with clients, freelance translators and interpreters on the most complex and most demanding of translation projects.
These are all factors which led to her being promoted to our In-house Reviewer in 2018. Vera is confident in her ability to take on new challenges and that she will be able to help further contribute to the quality of submitted translations, as she believes that each new translation project is a story in and of itself. She considers it a huge plus that she has the opportunity to observe interpreters working in the field, seeing how much they enjoy their work. She is fascinated with language, the science behind its beauty, complexity and structure.
In her free time, she likes to explore new cultural opportunities within the city of Belgrade, travel, and enjoys reading.

Ksenija Živković

Communication Manager

Ksenija Živković is an economist by profession, yet she cultivates great affection for literature and foreign languages. After spending 15 years in the banking sector, she has found a home with Speak.! Ksenija is in charge of the administrative and financial organisation of our offices and communication with our numerous business partners and respected clients, including large domestic and international enterprises.
Ksenija joined our team in the second half of 2019 and her distinct ability to listen and truly understand the needs of those she works with is already an invaluable contribution to Speak.’s continual growth as a finance and corporate-oriented translation agency.
Ksenija most enjoys spending her free time with her three children.

Speak Associates