About us

Craig Buckstein is the President & CEO of Geneva Worldwide, a global leader in language solutions. Craig was responsible for transforming the century-old staffing company into a flourishing language services company and has been instrumental in the many strategic shifts and pivots over his 20-year career. During his tenure, Geneva pursued ISO 9001:2008 certification, became listed on the GSA schedule to provide Interpreting, Translation and Transcription services to the Federal Government, and expanded language offerings as the industry evolved. He has grown Geneva into a top 5 provider of interpreters worldwide according to Common Sense Advisory (CSA) and on the 2018 Nimzdi 100 list for the top global language services firms.

Under Craig’s leadership, the company continues to develop and refine its product offerings through passionate professionals and new and emerging technology, including our Video Remote Interpreting platform. Craig devotes time to the industry and to the New York City business community through his board position on the Board of Governors for the 100 Year Association of New York. He was a previous President of the Association of Language Companies. Craig graduated from the University of Wisconsin and received his MBA from the Zicklin School of Business at Baruch College.

Joel Buckstein is the Chairman of the Board for Geneva Worldwide. His colleagues, family, and friends affectionately refer to him as “J.B.” Although retired and having turned day to day operations over to Craig, J.B. continues to provide strategic advice and counsel to the management team at Geneva. Founded in 1903 as an employment and staffing firm, J.B. represents the second of the three generations of the Buckstein to direct Geneva. He leveraged his business acumen to expand, transform, and grow Geneva from a staffing firm to a leader in the language services field. Immediately prior to joining the family business, J.B. held senior finance and operations positions at Mercedes Benz and Chase Manhattan Bank, always attuned to client needs. During his decades at the helm of Geneva, J.B. has demonstrated his leadership talents and foresight to helped steer not only his company but the industry, to provide language services to businesses and governments across the country.

He continues to be involved in numerous organizations and volunteer groups that focus on helping small and local businesses grow, acting as a valuable resource for others. For example, J.B. is currently active in SCORE, the largest volunteer business mentoring program in the country, assisting future entrepreneurs. J.B. has always felt the responsibility to ‘give back’ and has created a scholarship for bi-lingual students who possessed a keen entrepreneurial spirit. J.B. graduated Long Island University with a B.A in Psychology and then completed subsequent coursework at The New School for Social Research. He did this to better understand psychology and its applications on human interactions in commercial and personal settings among people of all backgrounds. A life-long learner and mentor, J.B. continues to leverage his experience to benefit others.

Earning her degree in Canada, Nicole combined her interest in understanding the human mind with her passion for business by studying Psychology (both organizational and abnormal psychology) as well as Human Resources at the University of Manitoba. Joining the company in 2010, she is currently the Executive Vice President at Geneva Worldwide, focusing on strategic long term growth, employee development and engagement, as well as corporate culture.

Nicole loves being on a team of collaborative fun spirited people who are open to challenging and learning from one another while pushing to achieve goals with unwavering determination. This most likely stems from her early days as a competitive Rhythmic Gymnast for team Canada. Competing in both individual and group events, Nicole was able to travel internationally and learned at an early age that putting in the time, effort, and dedication will always yield high results. She continued on in the sport after retiring as an athlete earning her Provincial 1 coaching certification, as well as a National 2 judging certification, and utilized both of these for six years as well. This helped to better shape her understanding of working with different skill sets and how to get the maximum result of a persons potential; as well as how to respectfully and effectively navigate conflict resolution.

Michelle Lemus is the Vice President of Interpreting Services for Geneva Worldwide. Michelle is involved with long term strategic planning, profitability, and overall operational efficiency of the Interpreting group. Michelle manages the coordinator team members, who fulfill the client requests by matching the best resource to the assignment. Michelle has been with Geneva for 5 years and joined after a long career as an American Sign Language interpreter, with a specialization on medical and mental health interpreting. For example, Michelle has earned the national healthcare CORECHI credential from CCHI, the Certification Commission for Healthcare Interpreters. She continues to be involved with various programs assisting the deaf community and culture. She earned her BA from The College of Staten Island and completed her ASL training at the Seymour Joseph Institute of American Sign Language.

Aurora Cioban is the Controller Geneva Worldwide. In this role, Aurora manages and evaluates every aspect of the company’s accounting function with her team. She has been with Geneva since 2013 and She holds a B.S. in Economics from Babes Bolyai University, the largest and best ranked global university in Romania (by US News & World Report), renowned for its multicultural business programs. Aurora additionally holds an accounting degree from Baruch College. Aurora strives to learn new ways of doing things and takes on challenges that are sometimes out of her comfort zone.

Briseida Amparán is Geneva’s Director of Translation and Transcription, responsible for the operational efficiency and managing the project managers who deliver the projects to our clients. She has a deep understanding of the Translation and Transcription services and best practices based on her 10-year career in the language services industry. Bris came to Geneva having managed a similar department at another language services company and has a keen sense of customer service which she instills in her team. She began her career as a California Court Certified Interpreter and transitioned into the translation and transcription side of the business. Bris holds a Master’s degree in Spanish from Cal State Fullerton and a double baccalaureate major in Psychology and Law and Society from UC Riverside.