Born in Italy (Milan) in 1978, I studied Art History at the Courtauld Institute of Art in London and then took a Master in Political Economy of Transition at the London School of Economics. I lived in Russia (Moscow) for ten years where I worked as a freelance journalist writing mainly on cultural and social topics. I am not working as a reporter in China since I am on a diplomatic visa. I am working instead on a book that brings together architecture, the USA and URSS.

In 2017 I published a book which is a history of Russia from the XIX to the end of the XX century told through the lives of sixteen Russian women, each woman reflecting a different page of Russian history and culture.

I am happy to help organizing activities, holding contacts with organizing parties, taking care of the logistics, holding lunches/dinners with people we need to talk to etc. Since I am in the diplomatic circle of Beijing I can help linking with Embassies, Cultural Institutes, International Schools or other international cultural institutions.

As diplomats, we should stay in Beijing for 4 years, therefore until about June 2024. I am married and we have two kids, a boy and a girl, 4 and 7 years old, going to the Italian kindergarten and to the French school.

A freshman seminar on the colonial history of Hong Kong offered by Professor John Carroll sparked an interest in 1999 that has dictated much of what’ve I’ve done for the subsequent 22 years, as you will see below. I took several Chinese history and language courses in college followed by stints in Beijing as both a language student and as an English Teacher in the early to mid-2000s. Through a career in international education, and specifically Mandarin Chinese language programs, I returned to China in 2011, which has afforded me the opportunity to pursue my interest in various areas of Chinese society and history over the last decade.

In my current role, I spend most of my time facilitating sessions to help students connect to various facets of China. For RASBJ, I would happily contribute to barnstorming sessions as well as support the planning and execution of any talks on the organization’s calendar. I’m also happy to lend a hand in whatever administration work the organization requires.

Regarding how long I plan to remain in China, the most accurate answer is that it will be work-dependent. Offering as realistic an estimate as possible, I will likely be in China for at least 1-3 more years. That could be longer, though unlikely shorter, depending on where my career pursuits take me next.

Summary of Experience

The College of William and Mary, 2003 graduation
Bachelor’s Degree in International Relations with a minor in Mandarin Chinese
Beijing Normal University Chinese language program - June to December 2002

Sep 2004 to Feb 2006 - English teacher, Beijing and Langfang, Hebei Province

2006 to 2010: Air France staff in Dulles, Virginia

2010-2011: American Councils for International Education, Washington DC
Program Officer for China, Critical Language Scholarship
Volunteer, National Asian Art Museum (formerly the Freer and Sackler Galleries)

2011 – 2015: American Councils for International Education, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province
Internship Coordinator, Chinese Language Flagship Program (Nanjing Flagship Center)

2015 – Present: Schwarzman College at Tsinghua University, Beijing
2015-2018: Supervisor, Academic Affairs
2018-Present: Director, College Events Programming