Season 4 Episode 10:
The Language of Trust with Ingrid Christensen, CEO and Founder of INGCO
Flipping through the newspaper at a cafe near her college campus, a help-wanted ad caught Ingrid Christensen’s eye. At the time, her career path was uncertain – even as graduation from the University of Minnesota loomed in a matter of days.
The job was for administrative work with a language services provider in the Twin Cities. It sounded better than her current job serving food at a sports bar, so Ingrid applied – and got offered the job. Just a few weeks into the role, Ingrid’s new employer discovered she was fluent in Spanish. They encouraged her to ditch the office work and become a Spanish interpreter for them.
It didn’t take long for Ingrid to fall in love with the profession of interpreting. From babies being born to people taking their last breath, she was present for some of the most profound moments in people’s lives. It was easy to see the impact her work had on those who desperately needed access to information in their own language.
Ingrid knew she wanted to go deeper into her newfound field, so she earned a certificate in Translation and Interpretation from the University of Minnesota. She spent several more years interpreting before realizing the pace she’d been keeping wouldn’t be sustainable forever. She earned an MBA from Hamline University so she could learn more about what it might take to run her own business someday, or to work in another business setting.
While in grad school, Ingrid continued interpreting during the day. If she thought life was busy then, it was about to get much busier: Ingrid found out she was expecting a baby. With no family nearby to help with childcare, she frequently brought her infant son to classes.
As she wrapped up her MBA coursework, Ingrid started getting requests to do interpreting directly for those in her network. Soon, she had so many of her own clients that she did less and less for other agencies, until she realized it was time to start her own company. INGCO International was born in 2006.
Seventeen years later, Ingrid is CEO of a thriving global translation and interpreting company. She sets the culture for the organization and coaches its employees, and she regularly speaks publicly about the importance of language to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion. Ingrid is active in the Twin Cities business community and is passionate about giving back and engaging in social justice issues.
“The thought of being able to be someone’s voice when they need to be heard in another language is so energizing to me,” she shares. “I can’t think of more important work to be doing.”
Ingrid lives in the Twin Cities with her now 17-year-old son. In addition to her business activities, she spends her time on personal development, exercise, music, friends, entertaining, and traveling the world to experience as many new cultures as she can.
Learn more at INGCO International | Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn | Twitter
Our Non-Profit Spotlight is: Fraser
You can learn more at https://www.fraser.org/