Experience Italian Charm

Katherine is the founder of The CiaoItalia Projects and has been the driving force behind our mission to promote cultural understanding through the arts and languages. Her passion for literature and her translation skills mark her as a leader in multiculturalism. With over 30 years of experience in the arts and education, Katherine brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to our organization. As our program director, she  oversees all of our events and educational programs. With a background in cultural anthropology and years of experience in event planning, Katherine is passionate about creating meaningful and engaging experiences for our community.
Dante Alighieri the Itinerant statue by artist Lucia Serafini donated to CiaoItaliaPro, and used as a "rolling prize" to highlight Italian excellence, is the mascot  in memory of our language and culture.

Movie director Todd Thompson collaborates with student production in 2018

Emilia is our marketing and outreach coordinator, responsible for spreading the word about The CiaoItalia Projects and engaging with our community. With a university teaching background and a passion for literatures, Emilia  is committed to promoting diversity and a deeper understanding of self though understanding cultural nuances.

Emilia is available for teaching as well as  textbook and/or document editing in English, Italian and Spanish.

Sheryl has an international background and extensive travelling experience. She obtained a Master’s  Degree from the University of Virginia (UVA) in Education and has an Italian language teacher certification . She participated in testing preparation project for the Italian exams. Aside from the meeting the  necessary qualifications to teach Spanish at a collegiate level, she also has years of experience in teaching at the university level in the USA.  Educated in Buenos Aires, Argentina; she also spent time studying in Alicante, Spain furthering her understanding of  diverse Spanish dialects. In Italy she studied in Perugia and perfected her Italian. Her passion for languages also in translation and interpreting techniques.

As our program director, Mary Ann  oversees all of our planning events and educational programs.  Her degree in Italian and Spanish from USF, and her TESOL Certification from  Atlanta, Georgia. She has extensive experience in northern Italy both private and public schools  as well as being a course developer for tailored courses at various language levels using the Active Learning Method. This allows for real life situational learning and gives the student the "thought autonomy." 

Mary Ann  is passionate and seeks to help the community by interacting in numerous cultural activities, among many cooking and ceramics.

Gian Francesco Ferri,  BFA and Master majoring in Musical Theater Performance  specializes in teaching music, Italian songs and pronunciation practice. 

An extensive teaching career but also a  passionate musician who  will transport you into the Italian melodies, culture and  even humor . Gianfranco also has expertise in other subjects such as language used in culinary, education, military and basic conversational Italian.

 Elisa Palma-Hancock has a Teaching degree and taught for several years in Italian Elementary schools. She also holds a degree in Drama from the Accademia Antoniana d’Arte Drammatica of Bologna, Italy and a Life Coaching certificate too.
Elisa is skilled in combining language and culture with Italian tradition  and designs courses that embody the Italian spirit.
Her acting experience makes her the perfect choice for those looking to improve their Italian diction, like opera singers and Italian enthusiasts. 

Angela, a graduate from Montclair  State University , NJ and a certified Italian teacher who has worked in K-12 for  25+years with middle and high school students. An attentive lesson planner enriches  her teaching methodology  with cultural nuances and audio visual support. Join her for a  fun, loving Italian experience. Her passion for Italian cooking gives the flavour you need in an individual or group lesson.

Alessandro currently  has incremented the Italian program language and culture at  Florida SouthWestern State College  within the classroom  but also by creating cultural events within the local community and with  exchange programs in Florence, Italy. As an  advisor of our projects, he has contributed to linking the academic university programs in the US and abroad as well as reaching out to a better understanding of community needs.