Chair of the Board, Executive Committee

Dr. Annelise Brody Morani

Annelise received her laurea in comparative literature at the university of Bologna with a thesis on Dante and the Rossetti family. She received also her MA and Ph.D in Italian literature from the JHU with a thesis on Virginity in Early Italian literature. She then went on teaching as a faculty member at various college institutions joining Washington University in Saint Louis in 2005 where she taught Italian language, literature and cinema at all levels. She also served as language coordinator until 2018. She developed and taught online language courses as a winner of a grant in language and technology research at her institution (2014) She became proficient in using both Blackboard and Canvas platforms.

Her main research interest is in Medieval Italian literature and in particular in literature and ethics. She published papers on Petrarch and Boccaccio, presented at numerous conferences.

Annelise is also a passionate yoga practitioner and a certified yoga instructor in Hatha yoga and ELDOA 1&2. She has been teaching yoga to dancers, children as well as seniors. Her focus is on improving mobility and spinal health.

Antonella Salvatore Pellegrino

Antonella Salvatore studied classics in Italy where she earned her university degree. “I attended specialized courses for teaching Italian to foreigners at the Universita’ Ca’ Foscari in Venice, the Universita’ per Stranieri in Perugia, and at George Mason University in VA. I have been teaching Italian here in the Washington area since 2005 in which time I have taught college courses at American University, adult courses for the Italian Cultural Society, and courses for native Italian-speaking children at the middle school level.” She adds, “I have a great passion for the Italian language and its literature deepened since my school days at the Orazio Flacco Classical high school. (Flacco is the poet who coined “Carpe diem” to mean “take heed!” or “seize the day!” and who was born not far from my home town in Basilicata.) “I love my work and the language of “that beautiful country where the use of “si” for yes resounds!” (Dante Alighieri, Inferno, Canto XXXIII). She lives in DC with her husband Roberto and her daughter Elena.

Camilla Presti-Russell

Born in Verona, Italy, Laurea in lettere, Università di Padova. Taught lettere in High School in Verona. Taught Italian at Boston University, at the Centro Internazionale di Studi, Verona, at the University of Maryland, College Park. Has been teaching for the Italian Cultural Society, Language Program since 2003.
Married with two grown children and six grand children.

Carlo Ellena

Carlo Ellena was born in the picturesque town of Savona, Liguria also known as the “Palm tree Riviera”. Interested in technological issues, he attended university in Pisa where he studied Artificial Intelligence and received his Masters in computer linguistics and expert systems. Mr. Ellena has been teaching for the Italian Cultural Society (ICS) since 2008 and became a standing board member in 2012. In 2013 Mr. Ellena joined the Subcomittee that regulates and runs the Italian Language School (ILP) at ICS. He is married to Varinia Daza and lives in Bethesda, Maryland. He is fluent in Italian, English and Spanish, and proficient in both French and Portuguese.

Caterina Vannucci

Caterina Vannucci is an Italian violinist with 20 years of experience in the repertoire of symphonic and chamber orchestras. After graduating in violin at the Pietro Mascagni Institute in Livorno, she made her debut in the Italian Youth Orchestra. She also played as a concertino violinist of the Florence Symphonietta, under the direction of Maestro Piero Bellugi.

Later she joined the Orchestra of the Puccini Festival in Lucca, specializing in opera repertoire. In 2013 she moved to the United States and played with the Takoma Ensemble Chamber Orchestra. She currently works with the choreographer Mimmo Miccolis and the Washington Ballet and she is part of the non-profit association at Musical Heart which deals with playing in hospitals for the terminally ill.

Claudio Tanca

Claudio Tanca was born in Rome, the Eternal City. He has spent more than half of his life abroad, in Belgium, France, and since 2011 in the United States of America. For more than two years Claudio has taught Italian to children at Language Stars in Alexandria and Gaithersburg. He is interested in communications, international relations, and international business and holds a Master Degree in International Business and Government Relations from Georgetown University, Washington, DC; a degree in Political Science from LUISS Guido Carli, Rome, Italy; and Certificat d’Études Politiques from Institut d’études politiques, Aix-en-Provence, France.

Claudio also works in communications and media relations for an international tobacco-control NGO, sometimes traveling to Latin America, Europe, and South Asia to teach activists how to fight multinational tobacco companies. He likes Italian cuisine – some people say he is a good cook – and Italian wine. He loves soccer and is a loyal supporter of AS Roma. He works and lives in Washington, DC.  He is fluent in Italian, English, and French and proficient in Spanish.

Claudio Pedone

Claudio was born and raised in Taranto, ‘’The City of the Two Seas’’, in the southern region of Puglia. Prior to receiving a Master’s degree in Foreign Languages and Literatures ( with concentration in Linguistics and Didactics ) in 2006, the year before , while preparing for his thesis defense,  he started his career as teacher of Arabic and English for the Italian Ministry of Interior. After several years in this role, he kept teaching for public and private schools and institutions before moving to Tuscany in the early 2000 where he decided to start teaching his beloved native language. To this end  he got a Ditals certification ( certification of competence to teach Italian as a second language) at the University of Siena. 

Before moving to the U.S. in 2016, while teaching in person he embarked on the experience of teaching Italian on online educational platforms ( at that time pretty new to the general public of language learners). It was a success as he was able to complete thousands of lessons and have hundreds of students all around the world.

Since then he has devoted his professional career to the Italian language and Culture. He currently resides in the Washington D.C. area and he has been working since 2017 as an Italian Language instructor at the Foreign Service Institute ( U.S. Department of State). He is passionate about movies (he likes to be called a ‘movie buff’), cooking  ( seafood and carbonara are his favorite food) , painting ( never tired to  paint the sea ) and martial arts ( he holds a 2nd Dan Aikido black belt and  holds an instructor diploma in this Japanese martial art). 

Cristiana Fabiani

Cristiana Fabiani was born and raised in Rome, Italy. Currently with over ten years teaching experience, Ms. Fabiani’s origins had her attend La Sapienza University in Rome, where she received both her Bachelors and her Masters degrees in International Studies. In 1992 Ms. Fabiani moved to the United States to work as a journalist for the Agence France Presse in Washington DC. She did this for ten years until she decided teaching was her true calling and in 2002 Ms. Fabiani switched careers to start teaching at the Italian Cultural Society’s language program. She has been with the institution ever since, helping to promote Italian culture through education. During this time Ms. Fabiani obtained her teacher certification in Italian from the state of Maryland, and from 2006 to 2011 also taught Italian at Tilden middle school in Rockville, MD. Aside from Italian she is fluent in English, French and Spanish. When not teaching Ms. Fabiani enjoys figure skating, cooking (Italian food) and writing. She currently resides in Maryland.

Cristina Rampulla

Cristina was born in Rome, raised in several beautiful Italian towns and lived in different European countries. She holds a MSc in Economics from Toulouse School of Economics, France.

For over a decade she was a manager and consultant involved in aid projects for donors and governments in emerging and developing countries. Her consulting assignments often implied delivering training to clients, a task that Cristina mostly enjoyed. She then decided to change career and became a teacher in high schools in France. She speaks English, French and Slovene.

She is a great lover of Tuscan focaccia, Sicilian arancini, Italian Renaissance art and a fierce Ferrari supporter.

Secretary, Executive Committee

Dario Penzo

Born and raised in Chioggia, an island in the Venetian Lagoon, Dario is an archaeologist and Italian teacher with a Bachelor’s degree in Cultural Heritage Conservation (2012) and a Master’s degree in Archaeology (2015) from the University Ca’ Foscari of Venice. He spent his academic years between Italy, Belgium and the United States before moving permanently to the DC area at the end of 2017.

Dario started his teaching career training archaeology students while working for the Ca’ Foscari University Anthropology Laboratory. He also had experience as substitute teacher for the Italian public school system, where he taught Italian language, literature, history, art and art history to students between 9 and 14 years old.

His passion for cultural heritage and Italian history was useful for his research studies, which allowed him to publish papers in Italian archaeological journals and present his theses’ research at the Green Templeton College of the University of Oxford.

Dario joined the Italian Cultural Society in Fall 2018, an opportunity that has helped him use his passions to promote real Italian culture in America. He was elected Secretary of the Board in 2020.

Director of the ICS Music School

Felicia Toscano

Felicia Toscano is a classical guitarist, from Taranto, Italy. She started taking guitar lessons since she was 10 with Master Duilio Bellone.

She is a teaching veteran in  several County Public Schools in Italy . She holds a National Board Certified teacher of Italian for elementary school (2006). She holds Certificate  ICon AP Italian Language and Culture as a Tutor. She taught Italian language at G. Tosi elementary school, D. Purificato Elementary and Middle school , and Gramsci school  in Rome.

She entered the local Conservatorio “G. Paisiello” in Taranto  (which is Paisiello’s native town) ranking first among the entrance exam candidates. In Taranto, she studied with Master Pino Forresu, graduating in 1999 with a Masters Degree in Music. Than she studied Musical Interpretation with Senio and Alirio Diaz. She got a Permanent Certification as Music Teacher for Public Schools at “Roma 3” University in Rome.

She graduated as Orff-Schulwerk Teacher Education at S.I.M.E.O.S. School in Verona, and she attended Music Therapy Courses in Assisi (PG). She moved to Rome and she taught in several Public Middle and High Schools. She was on the board of private music schools and cultural associations such as “Music Risonanze Association” Rome – EUR and “Music and Arts Association” Fonte Laurentino – EUR.

From 2015 to 2017, she taught as Adjunct Guitar Professor at the Conservatorio Santa Cecilia of Rome. She was a volunteer teacher in the Down Syndrome children association in Rome and the Spastic Association in Taranto. In the course of her career, she has been awarded many first-place prizes in national and international guitar classic and folk music competitions: Spanish Music Festival of Puglia, Music Festival “Baroque City”, Guitar Festival of Fiuggi, Great Jubilee of 2000, International Competition Ferrero Luigi Riva dei Tessali, and European Music Competition “Pythagoras.”

Felicia formed several artistic partnerships with Spanish orchestras such as Acords Joves Orchestra de Montilivi Girona directed from Euken Master Imanol Ledesma. She appeared on stage both as soloist and with orchestras and various chamber ensembles. She is a highly distinguished and well-known seminar senior lecturer in the area of Mediterranean rites and guitar music analysis.

With her innovative and lively approach to music education, Felicia Toscano founded and directed Canarios Guitar Orchestra, which she conducted in several concerts, competitions, and performances. Felicia believes in fostering a tuneful, beautiful, artful learning community based on music education, and works as a concert performer and teacher in Italy and US. She also has a certification to teach in elementary, middle and high schools in Italy.

Workshop & Summer Camp Coordinator

Fiorenza Castelli

I was born in Bergamo and I came to Washington DC in 2009. Since then I work for my two children and I love to organize all types of activities that reconnect them to Italy in order to keep their Italian roots strong and alive. Since 2012 I conduct the “Nati Per Leggere DC” project where I read aloud in Italian to kids in the public libraries of DC and Northern VA. I am an active member of the MAPACI team (MAmma e PApa’ per la Cultura Italiana) of Italians in DC, a non profit organization, of which I am also a board member. With “Le DIVE”, another non profit organization in DC, I organized various activities for kids always themed towards the Italian traditions. Since 2017 I collaborate with Ente Gestore – Casa Italiana Language School, teaching Italian language to the kids in the elementary grades. I like reading books,  going to classic and modern ballet, opera, musicals, visit museums and I love to prepare cakes with my kids. I have a solar and positive attitude. I strongly believe that a smile is worth way more than any word!

Francesco Da Vela

Francesco was born in Empoli in the province of Florence and was raised in Certaldo, a beautiful town between Florence and Siena – also known as the town of Giovanni Boccaccio.

He is a psychologist with a Masters’ Degree in Industrial Psychology and Social and Organizational Psychology from l’Universita degli studi di Firenze. He started his career working in the fashion field and preparing his thesis (“The Characteristics of the Task as Antecedents of the Innovative Process on an Individual Level.”) at Tessilform Spa Patrizia Pepe Firenze in the HR section. After that, he accumulated several experiences for consulting companies focusing on HR selection and training on psychological themes.

Always passionate about teaching, he began tutoring by teaching English to Italian children. His heart brought him to the USA, where after a short experience as a consultant in personnel selection, he decided to follow his vocation and began teaching Italian and Italian culture at the Foreign Service Institute to American diplomats. His motto is “Insegnare vuol dire lasciare un segno”. “Teaching means to leave a mark.“

Francesco has lived in the Washington, DC area since 2015.  He is passionate about Tuscan salumi, especially Prosciutto Toscano, and he is proud of his region’s culinary treasures.  He is madly in love with the mountains during the summer, especially the Dolomites, as he loves hiking. He enjoys watching and playing sports such as soccer, basketball and particularly cycling, which he considers a school of life.

Giovanna Galletta

Born in Benevento. Lover of music and dance, of all artistic and cultural disciplines. Graduated in literature from Suor Orsola Benincasa of Naples, freelance journalist registered in the register of journalists in Rome.

She moved to Latina at the age of 25 years old where she will start working for a local broadcaster in Latina and Rome: “Lazio TV”, like a presenter.She taught Italian, history and geography at the middle and high schools of his adopted city.She obtained the certification of “Professional civil mediator” at ADR Futura in Latina.At the same time she was manager of the “Tam Tam Comunication” marketing and communication agency, a family business, where she was in charge of communication and creation of commercials spots.

Together with her husband they decide to open a business in the United States where she now lives with her family. Her maxim: “Never limit knowledge”.

Laura Loddo Moticka

Born in Venice so many years ago, I graduated from the University Ca’ Foscari of Venice with an M.A. in Modern Foreign Languages and Literatures with a focus on teaching a foreign language. I have been teaching Italian since 2002 to students in high schools and adults. I also studied singing at the Conservatory.

I have an adolescent kid, whom I call “Il mio porcospino”. Together with him and my husband, I like to travel the world and especially explore Italy.

In my free time, I like to read historical novels and detective stories; I enjoy listening to music of all kinds and singing in choirs. I also love to bake and make jewelry using Murano glass and all sorts of stones. I must admit that I am also a workaholic who is always in the “I am a teacher and need to find materials and realia for my students” mode.

President Emeritus

Dr. Luigi De Luca

Luigi De Luca is a former president of the ICS. He was involved in the building up of the Italian Language Program with Maria Wilmeth and Cesarina Horing. Since 2006, Luigi has taught at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health in Baltimore, and before 2006 he was running a laboratory at the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda. The Italian government has bestowed on Luigi the titles of Commendatore and Grand’ufficiale in recognition of his research work, his support of the ILP and the Awards Program of the ICS as well as his interest and scholarship in the classical languages. He recently obtained a MA and PHD in Classics at Catholic University.

Mariana P. Tacheva

Mariana was born and raised in Bulgaria in a beautiful city, called Sliven. After receiving her Diploma for Administrative employees at the Economics High School she obtained the Diploma for the Primary School Education from the Pedagogical College. She worked as a Teacher in Primary School for more than 8 years. In 2000 she earned Master Degree in Public Administration from Technical University of Varna, Bulgaria. After one year she moved to Italy, following her husband and his work. She lived in Milano for five year and then she moved to Piacenza, Emilia Romagna. This is the city in which she gave birth to her second son, the city where she and her family acquired dual citizenship and the city where their home is located. In Italy Mariana continued to study and work with children.  In 2010 she received Certificate for Social Worker for Childcare from Istituto Cortivo di Padua. She also earned a Certification of Italian as a Foreign Language (CILS), Level Four – C2, from the University for Foreign Students in Siena.

In March 2017 Mariana moved with her family to the US.  She lives in Reston and continues to work with the children. She teaches Italian in the Private Language School “Language Stars” in Alexandria and Fairfax Centers. She is very proud to become an Italian Teacher to promote the Italian culture.

Mariana loves to swim, ride bicycle and traveling. She enjoys cooking and she loves Italian, Mediterranean and Balkan food. Mariana is interested in criminology, psychology, photography, poetry and languages.

Nicoletta Nencioli Aiken

Born in the medieval town of Treviso in the Northeast of Italy, Nicoletta Nencioli Aiken is a journalist,author and teacher.  She comes from a long line of educators, professors and writers, her parents and grandparents have been linguistics and literature teachers.  Ms Nencioli Aiken remembers her earliest Italian-teaching experience – helping her mother review the students’ compositions.  A passion for the humanities brought her to study at the ‘Liceo Classico’ of Treviso, followed by the study of Law at the University of Rome, and Italian literature through ICON.

While in Rome, the call to write led her to pursue a career in journalism where she worked as a writer for the Italian public radio/television RAI and a reporter for several news and literary outlet.  Upon receiving her professional journalist credentials,  she moved to the US in 1992 where she worked for the Venice newspaper ‘Il Gazzettino’ until 2009.  She continues her journalistic work for the main Italian News Service (ANSA), reporting daily on wide range of topics.  Ms Nencioli Aiken in 2008  authored ‘Making out in Italian’  for Tuttle Publishing, a fun guide to the language of Italy as it is actually spoken. After tutoring in italian language and culture american friends and family, she now teaches italian at ICS. In her free time, she can be seen flying back and forth between Washington DC and Venice,bicycling  and speaking Italian to her American husband..

Silvana Amato

Hello, my name is Silvana Amato and I was born in Comiso, Sicily.

I first learned English in Middle School. I then graduated from the Liceo Liguistico in Vittoria, Sicily, and later received a Bachelor of Arts Degree from University of Maryland (UMUC). I like to teach Italian to share my passion for the language and for all aspects of Italian culture.

I have lived in many parts of Italy, in the US, and Japan. I previously taught at the Italian Cultural Society until 2005.  I then moved to Naples, Italy where I taught Italian from 2006 to 2019 for U.S. and NATO forces as an instructor for Central Texas College.

Silvana De Luca

Silvana was born in Acqui Terme, a small city in Piedmont, famous for its thermal bath since Roman times. In high school she went through the classical curriculum, but she chose a scientific career at the
University of Pavia. In the United States she worked as a biochemist at Tufts Medical School in Boston doing research on cartilage components, and continuing the same research at the National Institutes of Health. After almost 20 years as a scientist she changed career and became an instructor of Italian at the Foreign Service Institute, the language school of the Department of State, where currently she teaches American diplomats posted to Italy. After joining the Italian Cultural Society and serving in its Board of Directors, Silvana became involved with the Language Program at ICS for which she teaches a variety of courses. Silvana finds great satisfaction in her profession and loves to promote Italian language and culture. With her husband Luigi she instituted awards for young scholars in music, art and classical languages. Silvana has two children and three lovely grand-daughters with whom she shares the love for the wonderful country that is Italy.

Sofia Caligiuri

I am an Italian-Naturalized American artist who lives and works in the Metropolitan Area of Washington DC.

I was born in Calabria, Italy, and later moved to Rome where I studied as a painter at the Academy of Fine Arts under Alberto Ziveri.  My favorite teachers included Fiorella Diamantini and Arnoldo Ciarrocchi, an exquisite Master Etcher who also taught Maccari.  We used to have etching lessons on Saturday mornings, while eating pizza bianca sprinkled with oil and salt accompanied by a couple sips of wine.  In this way, students enjoyed both intellectual and physical nourishment. I remember that it felt like a mystical experience each time. I illustrated several journals in Italy. Published two books “Le Novellette” Artemide Edizioni, Roma Italy 2004 and “The Fief, a story of love and other virtues” Artemide Edizioni, 2002 Roma, Italy.

I have held exhibitions of my work in Italy and in the United States.My imagery emphasizes the idea that the impermanence of all phenomena underlies the search for the meaning of life. Therefore, I follow memories and thoughts as Traces that ultimately will bring me to find Evidences of how my life developed and what type of evolution I experienced.  In other terms, my work is a tool that I use to get to know myself better and especially to discover what kind of mission I have in this life and fully develop my own potential.

Stefania Amodeo

Stefania Amodeo, born in Genoa, holds a laurea from the University of Genoa, Italy, in Lettere e Filosofia with a thesis in medieval history. She did graduate work in Belgium at the University of Louvain and at Harvard University from which she received an M.A. in Italian Literature. She has taught at Wellesley College and at Harvard University as a teaching fellow. Her main research interest is in language pedagogy and the use of computer technology in teaching foreign languages. She recently developed an Italian language course centered on the history and cultural importance of food in Italy. She directs a Study Abroad Course in Genoa and she is the advisor for Italian Minor and Romance Languages Major at the University of Maryland where she holds the position of Distinguished Senior Lecturer.

Tsehay Benyam Mesfin

Valentina Asciutti

Valentina Asciutti was born in Pescara, the city of flamboyant Italian poet and writer Gabriele D’Annunzio, a lovely town on the Adriatic Coast, in the Abruzzo region. As the Italian diplomat and journalist Primo Levi said after visiting Abruzzo in 1882: “dopo aver visitato e conosciuto l’Abruzzo, dico io: Abruzzo Forte e Gentile”. “Forte e Gentile” has since then become the motto of the region as it best describes the beauty of the region and the character of its people.

Valentina’s background is in Classics. She attended Liceo Classico in her hometown and proceeded to receive a BA in Classics at Università di Chieti. In 2003 she moved to the United Kingdom where she completed a Master of Arts at Durham University and then moved to London where she was awarded a PhD in Classics at King’s College London. After completing her PhD she embraced the new and cutting edge Digital Humanities field, learning how to best apply modern technologies, software tools and digital methods to the study of Humanities, in particular Latin, Classical Literature, History and Archaeology.  She was a Research Associate at the Department of Digital Humanities at King’s College London for five years before moving to the US. Valentina has been tutoring children and adults in Latin and Ancient Greek since she was a high-school student and is very passionate about teaching and communicating with her students.

She joined the Italian Cultural Society when she moved to Bethesda three years ago. She has  been contributing with the editing, writing and translating articles for the monthly newsletter Poche Parole and has recently joined the instructors team after completing a course on “Contemporary Italian and teaching it as a foreign language”.

She loves traveling, cooking, eating, and street art among many other things.

Giampiero Bugliarello

Giampiero Bugliarello fell in love with the piano at the age of four. Using his family  piano as a toy for sound exploration, he approached the instrument with an empirical  perspective from a young age. He began his formal education shortly thereafter under the  guidance of Ketty Teriaca; and by age ten, he was studying musical grammar and harmony  under Alberto Alibrandi, which set him on the path to become both a composer and jazz player,  in addition to a classical pianist. At age 11, he joined the Vincenzo Bellini Conservatory in  Catania led by Carmelo Pappalardo, from which he graduated with the highest honors in piano  performance. 

Giampero departed Italy to pursue a Master in Piano Performance in The United States.  Studying under the guidance of Nikita Fitenko, he obtained the title of Doctor of Musical Arts  at The Catholic University of America. Twice a recipient of a full scholarship, he worked as a  piano instructor, research assistant, and collaborative pianist. As he still maintains close ties  with the institution today, Giampero has since been appointed as a ad honorem visiting scholar,  conducting research for the Latin American Music Center in collaboration with the label Naxos  en Español. He currently serves as a piano instructor at the Music School of Delaware and at  the Music School of Italian Cultural Society in Washington D.C., where he operates as choral  conductor as well.  

Giampiero has furthered his studies at the Hochschule Sommerakademie Mozarteum in  Salzburg with Andrzej Jasiński, Daniel Pollack, and Aquiles Delle Vigne; and at the  Washington International Piano Festival with Igor Lebedev. He has attended masterclasses  held by Tamás Ungár and Vincenzo Balzani, among others. He is a prize-winner of several  awards in various national and international piano competitions, including: The Catholic  University of America Concerto Competition, The Catholic University of America  International Piano Competition, E. Satie International Piano Competition, Gianluca 

Campochiaro International Competition, J. S. Bach National Competition, and Ibla Grand  Prize. 

He took part in the fifteenth edition of Trecastagni International Music Festival  and performed at Palazzo Biscari, Castello Ursino, Castello di Calatabiano, Salone degli  Specchi, Wiener Saal, Catholic University of America Heritage Hall, Hartke Theater, Ward  Hall, Teatro Vitaliano Brancati, Teatro di Donnafugata, Le Ciminiere Cultural Center, Temple  B’nal Israel, Cultural Center Area Expo, Covington Center for the Performing Arts, the  Kennedy Center, and Carnegie Hall. At Carnegie Hall, after presenting his Ballata per  Pianoforte, the magazine, SoundWordSight identified a range of influences, including:  Beethoven, Rachmaninoff, and Liszt. 

He was recently appointed Goodwill Ambassador by the Arkansas Secretary of State, and  has been granted an O-1 visa for individuals who possess extraordinary abilities in their field  by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service.

Executive Director & CEO, Executive Committee

Francesca Casazza

Francesca Casazza was born in Genoa, Italy and holds a MA in Economics and Business Administration from Università di Genova. She has been the Director of the Italian Language Program for 4 years. Since September 2017, she also manages the cultural programs, the scholarship programs, communication, marketing and finance of the Society. She has worked in multinational enterprises in Spain, France and Italy for more than six years. Francesca speaks English, Spanish and French and has a basic knowledge of German as well. After her MBA, she has continued to educate herself in Italian language and culture with ICoN (Italian Culture on the Net), an online university program. She started her Italian teaching career in France and at University of Colorado in Boulder in 2003. Francesca has taught Italian in Spain, at the University of Maryland, at SAIS-Johns Hopkins University, at Montgomery College, at Casa Italiana Language School and in the Italian Language Program of the ICS. Francesca and her family live in Chevy Chase, MD.

Administrative & Office Manager

Lucy Fonseca

Lucy Fonseca is a married mother of two, born and raised in Toronto, Canada, of Portuguese immigrant parents. In Toronto she was surrounded by many Italian neighbors and friends. “I look forward to adding Italian to the languages I speak. I’m very happy to be working here, and with my past experience in administrative work I hope to provide outstanding customer service to the students in the Italian Language Program.”

Instructor, Marketing & Events Coordinator

Dario Penzo

Born and raised in Chioggia, an island in the Venetian Lagoon, Dario is an archaeologist and Italian teacher with a Bachelor’s degree in Cultural Heritage Conservation (2012) and a Master’s degree in Archaeology (2015) from the University Ca’ Foscari of Venice. He spent his academic years between Italy, Belgium and the United States before moving permanently to the DC area at the end of 2017.

Dario started his teaching career training archaeology students while working for the Ca’ Foscari University Anthropology Laboratory. He also had experience as substitute teacher for the Italian public school system, where he taught Italian language, literature, history, art and art history to students between 9 and 14 years old.

His passion for cultural heritage and Italian history was useful for his research studies, which allowed him to publish papers in Italian archaeological journals and present his theses’ research at the Green Templeton College of the University of Oxford.

Dario joined the Italian Cultural Society in Fall 2018, an opportunity that has helped him use his passions to promote real Italian culture in America. He was elected Secretary of the Board in 2020.

Social Media Coordinator

Derek Alexander Ginoris

Workshop & Summer Camp Coordinator

Fiorenza Castelli

I was born in Bergamo and I came to Washington DC in 2009. Since then I work for my two children and I love to organize all types of activities that reconnect them to Italy in order to keep their Italian roots strong and alive. Since 2012 I conduct the “Nati Per Leggere DC” project where I read aloud in Italian to kids in the public libraries of DC and Northern VA. I am an active member of the MAPACI team (MAmma e PApa’ per la Cultura Italiana) of Italians in DC, a non profit organization, of which I am also a board member. With “Le DIVE”, another non profit organization in DC, I organized various activities for kids always themed towards the Italian traditions. Since 2017 I collaborate with Ente Gestore – Casa Italiana Language School, teaching Italian language to the kids in the elementary grades. I like reading books,  going to classic and modern ballet, opera, musicals, visit museums and I love to prepare cakes with my kids. I have a solar and positive attitude. I strongly believe that a smile is worth way more than any word!

Director of the ICS Music School

Felicia Toscano

Felicia Toscano is a classical guitarist, from Taranto, Italy. She started taking guitar lessons since she was 10 with Master Duilio Bellone.

She is a teaching veteran in  several County Public Schools in Italy . She holds a National Board Certified teacher of Italian for elementary school (2006). She holds Certificate  ICon AP Italian Language and Culture as a Tutor. She taught Italian language at G. Tosi elementary school, D. Purificato Elementary and Middle school , and Gramsci school  in Rome.

She entered the local Conservatorio “G. Paisiello” in Taranto  (which is Paisiello’s native town) ranking first among the entrance exam candidates. In Taranto, she studied with Master Pino Forresu, graduating in 1999 with a Masters Degree in Music. Than she studied Musical Interpretation with Senio and Alirio Diaz. She got a Permanent Certification as Music Teacher for Public Schools at “Roma 3” University in Rome.

She graduated as Orff-Schulwerk Teacher Education at S.I.M.E.O.S. School in Verona, and she attended Music Therapy Courses in Assisi (PG). She moved to Rome and she taught in several Public Middle and High Schools. She was on the board of private music schools and cultural associations such as “Music Risonanze Association” Rome – EUR and “Music and Arts Association” Fonte Laurentino – EUR.

From 2015 to 2017, she taught as Adjunct Guitar Professor at the Conservatorio Santa Cecilia of Rome. She was a volunteer teacher in the Down Syndrome children association in Rome and the Spastic Association in Taranto. In the course of her career, she has been awarded many first-place prizes in national and international guitar classic and folk music competitions: Spanish Music Festival of Puglia, Music Festival “Baroque City”, Guitar Festival of Fiuggi, Great Jubilee of 2000, International Competition Ferrero Luigi Riva dei Tessali, and European Music Competition “Pythagoras.”

Felicia formed several artistic partnerships with Spanish orchestras such as Acords Joves Orchestra de Montilivi Girona directed from Euken Master Imanol Ledesma. She appeared on stage both as soloist and with orchestras and various chamber ensembles. She is a highly distinguished and well-known seminar senior lecturer in the area of Mediterranean rites and guitar music analysis.

With her innovative and lively approach to music education, Felicia Toscano founded and directed Canarios Guitar Orchestra, which she conducted in several concerts, competitions, and performances. Felicia believes in fostering a tuneful, beautiful, artful learning community based on music education, and works as a concert performer and teacher in Italy and US. She also has a certification to teach in elementary, middle and high schools in Italy.