Marcella Spinotti, President - A native of Italy, she graduated with a major in Modern Literature and then went on to get her master’s degree in art history at La Sapienza University in Rome. In 1976, she worked as a cultural manager in organizations such as ARCI. She became the national vice chief responsible for the theater department and organized plays with Dario Fo and Roberto Benigni. In 1980, she moved to Venice and she was nominated as the responsible contact for the press at the Goldoni Theatre and, after a few months, became the Production Manager of the Goldoni Theater. At that time she produced various plays by Italian and foreign authors such as Gabriele Salvatores, Jerome Savary for the Venezia-Parigi Carneval. She was also a member of the board of Directors of the Opera Theatre La Fenice from 1985 to 1987. From 1990 on she independently produced various cultural documentaries. She moved to Los Angeles in 1997 with her family.
Massimo Ciavolella, Vice President - He studied at the Universities of Bologna, Rome, and British Columbia, where he received his Ph.D. in classical, medieval and Renaissance studies. He taught for many years at Carleton University (Ottawa) and at the University of Toronto before coming to his present positions as Professor and Chair, Department of Italian, and Professor of Comparative Literature at the University of California, Los Angeles. He has served on departmental and university-wide P&T committees, has directed and served on many advanced thesis committees, and has taught a wide range of courses, including ones on Italian Renaissance and “the Classical Tradition.” Over the years, he has won academic fellowships and grants, has organized and read papers at a great number of international conferences, and served on the board of several academic books and journals. The Italian government bestowed him with the title of “Ufficiale della Repubblica Italiana.”
Randi Malkin Steinberger, Treasurer - A Chicago native, Randi moved to Italy where she lived for 10 years upon graduating university. In Florence she launched a photography school and gallery and worked as a fine art photographer, later producing artists’ books that are now part of the permanent collections of many museums. During the end of her stay in Italy, she moved to Rome where she collaborated with the renowned artist Alighiero Boetti. Together they produced the book, Accanto al Pantheon, published by Prearo Editions in Milan. She moved to Los Angeles in 1992 where she and husband Harlan Steinberger co-founded Tell -Tale Productions, a non-profit organization, dedicated to producing educational films. She now balances her professional life with the care of her two sets of twins.
Elizabeth M. Daley, Founding Member - She was appointed dean of the USC School of Cinema-Television in May 1991. She joined the school in 1989 as chair of the Film & Television Production Program. She is the inaugural holder of the Steven J. Ross/Time Warner Dean’s Chair. She was Executive Director USC Annenberg Center for Communication from 1994 to 2005. Since becoming Dean, Daley has strengthened the school academic programs, infrastructure, and ties with the entertainment industry and media arts community. Under her leadership, the school has added two new divisions in animation and digital arts and interactive media, built the Robert Zemeckis Center for digital arts, installed 13 endowed chairs and formed successful partnerships with a variety of entertainment and technology companies. On October 4, 2006, Dean Daley presided over the official creation of the USC School of Cinematic Arts and broke ground for a new 137,000 square–foot-building complex.Lawrence Liebenbaum, Founding Member - Admitted to practice, State Bar of California - January 1970. His professional activities include: Los Angeles County Bar Association: Board of Trustees; Chair – Immigration Law Section; Chair - L.A.C.B.A. Delegation to Conference of Delegates of California Bar Associations; Chair – Committee on Rights of Aliens. Los Angeles County Bar Foundation: Member of the Board of Directors (1996 – Present); President & Chairman of the Board (2004-2005). Conference of Delegates of California Bar Associations: Member of the Board of Directors.
Milena Canonero, Board Member - Costume designer Milena Canonero, was born in Italy, studied art and design in London. Her brilliant costume creations are visual narratives that have uniquely complemented the work of many cinematographers and filmmakers. Her visionary, elaborate and striking costumes creations reflect her meticulous research and keen attention to minute details. She remarkably strives to bring her characters to life with innovative perfection encompassing, traditional and new elements into a unique fusion of forms, colors and harmonious design. Her impressive career includes collaborations with renowned directors such as Stanley Kubrick, Francis Ford Coppola, Hugh Hudson, Warren Beatty, and Steven Soderbergh. Milena is one of the most honored artists in the history of the Academy Awards: she has been nominated eight times and won Oscars for three of her films - Barry Lyndon, Chariots of Fire, and Marie Antoinette.
Carlo Chiarenza, Board Member - Since 1999, Carlo Chiarenza has been the George Graziadio Chair of Italian Studies. At California State University Long Beach he is the Director of the Italian program and the Director of Italian Studies. He teaches Modern and Contemporary literature as well as the History of Italian and European Cinema. After completing his Ph.D. in Humanities at John Hopkins University in 1973, he taught Italian and Comparative Literature at the University of British Colombia in Canada. From 1988 to 1996, he was the director of the Fulbright program in Rome, and from 1996 to 1998, director of the Society for International Organization (SIOI) in Rome.
Andrea Laguni, Board Member - Andrea Laguni was born in Florence Italy, received is doctoral degree from University of Florence and also studied at university of Berkeley in California. He was appointed as Executive Director of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra as of January 2007. Andrea Laguni’s experience in performing arts production and management began over 26 years ago when he became a production assistant for the Summer/Winter Festivals of Fiesole in Italy. Since then, he has worked for the San Francisco Opera, Orchestra Giovanile Italiana, Los Angeles Opera, and the “Orchestra della Toscana.” His work at LACO has touched on all facets of management over the past 11 years. He has played a lead role in artistic and strategic planning, operations, and education. He has also been involved in communications and fundraising. Most recently, Mr. Laguni has served as LACO’s Associate Executive Director.
Andrea Morricone, Board Member - Andrea Morricone was born in Rome, He began his musical studies under the guidance of his father, Ennio Morricone. He then studied under Ivan Vandor, Ada Gentile, and Irma Ravinale. In 1994 he received his diploma in Music Composition from the Conservatory of Saint Cecilia in Rome.In 1996 he received his diploma as Orchestra Conductor, studying with Maestro Bruno Aprea, also at Saint Cecilia Conservatory. In 1998 he received a Master degree in Music Composition at the National Academy of Saint Cecilia, studying under Maestro Franco Donatoni and Maestro Azio Corghi. He has composed, orchestrated, and conducted the scores for several feature films including Liberty Heights direccted by Barry Levinson, Here on Earth directed by M. Piznarski Ciao America directed by Frank Ciota, Due Amici directed by Scimone-Sframeli, Capturing the Friedmans directed by Andrew Jarecki (winner of Sundance Film Festival 2003), Raul directed by Andrea Bolognini, Funny Money by Leslie Grief, Brando by Leslie Giref and Mimi Firedman, and several films on which he collaborated with Ennio Morricone. Sting has recorded his song “My Heart and I,” and Gérard Depardieu performed his song “Ricordare” on the soundtrack of Tornatore’s film A Pure Formality.In 1990, he received the BAFTHA (British Academy Award) for the love theme in the movie Nuovo Cinema Paradiso directed by G. Tornatore. The theme is featured on Paradiso, the latest Sony Classical recording by Yo-Yo Ma. On November 2004 conducted YO-YO MA and the USC Thornton Chamber Orchestra in a special concert and symposium, featuring a screening of the films. He is a member of the Italian Institute for Music Theater.
Giovanna Zamboni Paulis, Board Member - After having obtained a law degree from the University of Roma, Giovanna followed her husband, a pathologist involved in scientific research, to the United States, Canada and Sweden. In 1979, they settled in Los Angeles where she decided to dedicate herself to the promotion of Italian culture in its multifaceted aspects. In 1985, she started her activity as director of cultural events for the Italian Heritage Culture Foundation, a non-profit corporation. This position involved overall strategic planning as well as establishing contacts with museums, universities and other institutions. A wide variety of initiatives reflecting contemporary Italian cultural reality were presented in a large number of museums, theaters and other venues around Southern California. In addition, she collaborated with several Italian Cultural Institutes in the United States and Canada. From 1995 to 2005 she was engaged by the Istituto Italiano di Cultura in Los Angeles as curator of exhibitions through which she introduced numerous shows in the context of art, design and architecture to the California audience. On June 2, 1999, the Italian government bestowed her with the title of “Ufficiale della Repubblica Italiana”
Alessia Patregnani Morricone, Board Member - After studying music, graduated in Literature at La Sapienza University, Rome. She attended post-graduate courses at the Accademia D’Arte Drammatica Silvio D’Amico with directors Luigi Squarzina, Walter Pagliaro, Peter Clough, and Jean Paul Denizon. She took part in the productions of Teatro Stabile Abruzzese with Lorenzo Salveti, Massimiliano Farau, and Roberto Graziosi, and performed works by Claude Debussy, Francis Poulenc, Goffredo Petrassi, Masolino D’Amico, Ada Gentile, and Ennio Morricone. Since 2004 she has been involved in the plays of Teatro La Comunità, headed by Giancarlo Sepe, and currently participates in the series of readings of Dante’s works for the Tor Vergata University, Rome. She also collaborates with RADIO RAI.
Diane Ghirardo, Board Member - Diane Ghirardo teaches history and theory of architecture at USC, with special emphasis on 20th century Italian architecture, gender and architecture, Italian Renaissance architecture and urbanism, and contemporary criticism. Before coming to USC, she taught at Stanford University and Texas A & M. Her books include Building New Communities: New Deal America and Fascist Italy, (translated into Italian in 2003), Mark Mack, and Architecture After Modernism, which has been translated into five languages and won a USC Phi Kappa Phi Award 1997. She edited Out of Site in 1991, essays on social aspects of architecture, in addition to numerous articles in journals in the United States and Europe. In 1985, she served as the American juror at the Venice Biennale, and in 1988 she became a Fellow of the American Academy in Rome (FAAR). She has lectured at universities throughout the United States, Europe, Africa and Australia, including lectures at the universities of Parma, Padova and Torino in Italy, in 2004. Her current research focuses on women’s spaces in a Renaissance Italian city, Ferrara.
Cristina Berio, Board Member - An American and EU citizen, born and raised in Italy and Brazil, Cristina Berio is currently based in Los Angeles and has been working as a Dubbing Supervisor, Dubbing Director and Voice Over Talent and Coach, mostly in the Italian and Brazilian Portuguese languages. Before moving to Los Angeles she lived in Rio de Janeiro, where she founded Sunlight Films and produced commercials, feature films and award-winning documentaries for Japan, South America, Europe and the United States. She later established herself as an International researcher and producer of unique and enticing stories for TV documentaries (see The War On Drugs), current affairs and cultural programs, filming around the world for BBC and VPRO (Dutch TV). She is presently involved in the production of a documentary on Frank Zappa, produced by Gail Zappa. Cristina worked as a Supervisor,Translator or V.O. Talent on titles such as Shrek 3, Spiderman 3, Ice Age 2, The Simpsons, Munich, The Terminal, and many many more.
Serena Simoni, Board Member - Serena graduated at Universita La Sapienza in Rome with a degree in Political Science. After graduating University she started working as an international election quality controller with OSCE (Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe) and MAE (Minister of Foreign Affairs) in Countries such as Albania , Serbia and Kosovo. She moved to California where she attended Cal State Long beach, receiving a Masters Degree in Political Science. Serena received her PHD in International Relations at USC. Serena is currently teaching International Relations at Cal State Long Beach.
Luigi Ballerini, Board Member - Luigi Ballerini grew up in Milan. He now lives in New York and teaches modern and contemporary Italian Literature at the University of California (Los Angeles). Ballerini as a poet has been published from 1972 to the present .His anthologies of American and Italian Poetry has beenappeared inUSA and Italy. He has written extensively on avant-garde literature and poetry (La piramide capovolta, Marsilio 1975), Guido Cavalcanti (Colui che vede Amore, Olschi, 2004) and on poetics (La legge dell’ingratitudine), and on gastronomy (Pellegrino Artusi’s Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well). He has curated exhibitions of Contemporary Italian Art including Italian Visual Writing, (New York, Finch Museum and Torino, Galleria civica d’arte moderna, 1973) and Spelt from Sybil’s Leaves (Sydney, Power Gallery, 1984). He has also convened a number of conferences: The Disappearing Pheasant I (New York, NYU, 1991) and The Disappearing Pheasant II (Los Angeles, UCLA, 1994). In 1992 he was awarded the Feronia Prize for Poetry.
Paola De Mari, Board Member - Paola De Mariwas born and studied in Turin, Italy. She moved to California with her family in 1979. She and her husband raised four children, and in the early eighties she started her career in the international trade business. Her first occupation was to assist Mr. Giuseppe Battaglia (first enlightened Italian entrepreneur to introduce the “Made in Italy” to Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills) in his import/export office. In1986 she was hired as a consultant by the Italian Trade Commission in Los Angeles. Six months later she was offered a full time position as Trade Analyst, which involved promoting Italian companies in the USA and the organization of trade shows and seminars. In 1996 she joined the Italy America Chamber of Commerce West in Los Angeles as Executive Director. Under her leadership the Chamber developed several significant collaboration agreements with major Italian Institutions.In the year 2006 the Italian Government awarded her with the title of “Ufficiale della Repubblica Italiana.” In June 2008 she retired as Executive Director of the Chamber where she serves currently as a member of the Board.
Paola Lorenzi, Founding Member - A native of Italy, she began her teaching career by successfully creating and developing Italian language courses for American executives of the Italian national oil company, Agip. She then continued her career to a tenured track position at Texas A&M University where she established the Italian language program. From 1989 to the present, she has been serving as assistant professor of Italian at Pepperdine University. She collaborated with the Chancellor Emeritus and former President, Dr. Norvel Young, to realize the dream of a Pepperdine campus in Florence with the support and generosity of benefactors and alumni. In 1999, with the financial support of the Italian Cultural Institute, she developed a minor program in Italian which has grown under her leadership to be second highest enrolment in the language division. The Italian government bestowed her with the title of “Ufficiale della Repubblica Italiana”
Italian
Massimo Ciavolella, Vice President - He studied at the Universities of Bologna, Rome, and British Columbia, where he received his Ph.D. in classical, medieval and Renaissance studies. He taught for many years at Carleton University (Ottawa) and at the University of Toronto before coming to his present positions as Professor and Chair, Department of Italian, and Professor of Comparative Literature at the University of California, Los Angeles. He has served on departmental and university-wide P&T committees, has directed and served on many advanced thesis committees, and has taught a wide range of courses, including ones on Italian Renaissance and “the Classical Tradition.” Over the years, he has won academic fellowships and grants, has organized and read papers at a great number of international conferences, and served on the board of several academic books and journals. The Italian government bestowed him with the title of “Ufficiale della Repubblica Italiana.”
Randi Malkin Steinberger, Treasurer - A Chicago native, Randi moved to Italy where she lived for 10 years upon graduating university. In Florence she launched a photography school and gallery and worked as a fine art photographer, later producing artists’ books that are now part of the permanent collections of many museums. During the end of her stay in Italy, she moved to Rome where she collaborated with the renowned artist Alighiero Boetti. Together they produced the book, Accanto al Pantheon, published by Prearo Editions in Milan. She moved to Los Angeles in 1992 where she and husband Harlan Steinberger co-founded Tell -Tale Productions, a non-profit organization, dedicated to producing educational films. She now balances her professional life with the care of her two sets of twins.
Elizabeth M. Daley, Founding Member - She was appointed dean of the USC School of Cinema-Television in May 1991. She joined the school in 1989 as chair of the Film & Television Production Program. She is the inaugural holder of the Steven J. Ross/Time Warner Dean’s Chair. She was Executive Director USC Annenberg Center for Communication from 1994 to 2005. Since becoming Dean, Daley has strengthened the school academic programs, infrastructure, and ties with the entertainment industry and media arts community. Under her leadership, the school has added two new divisions in animation and digital arts and interactive media, built the Robert Zemeckis Center for digital arts, installed 13 endowed chairs and formed successful partnerships with a variety of entertainment and technology companies. On October 4, 2006, Dean Daley presided over the official creation of the USC School of Cinematic Arts and broke ground for a new 137,000 square–foot-building complex.Lawrence Liebenbaum, Founding Member - Admitted to practice, State Bar of California - January 1970. His professional activities include: Los Angeles County Bar Association: Board of Trustees; Chair – Immigration Law Section; Chair - L.A.C.B.A. Delegation to Conference of Delegates of California Bar Associations; Chair – Committee on Rights of Aliens. Los Angeles County Bar Foundation: Member of the Board of Directors (1996 – Present); President & Chairman of the Board (2004-2005). Conference of Delegates of California Bar Associations: Member of the Board of Directors.
Carlo Chiarenza, Board Member - Since 1999, Carlo Chiarenza has been the George Graziadio Chair of Italian Studies. At California State University Long Beach he is the Director of the Italian program and the Director of Italian Studies. He teaches Modern and Contemporary literature as well as the History of Italian and European Cinema. After completing his Ph.D. in Humanities at John Hopkins University in 1973, he taught Italian and Comparative Literature at the University of British Colombia in Canada. From 1988 to 1996, he was the director of the Fulbright program in Rome, and from 1996 to 1998, director of the Society for International Organization (SIOI) in Rome.
Andrea Laguni, Board Member - Andrea Laguni was born in Florence Italy, received is doctoral degree from University of Florence and also studied at university of Berkeley in California. He was appointed as Executive Director of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra as of January 2007. Andrea Laguni’s experience in performing arts production and management began over 26 years ago when he became a production assistant for the Summer/Winter Festivals of Fiesole in Italy. Since then, he has worked for the San Francisco Opera, Orchestra Giovanile Italiana, Los Angeles Opera, and the “Orchestra della Toscana.” His work at LACO has touched on all facets of management over the past 11 years. He has played a lead role in artistic and strategic planning, operations, and education. He has also been involved in communications and fundraising. Most recently, Mr. Laguni has served as LACO’s Associate Executive Director.
Andrea Morricone, Board Member - Andrea Morricone was born in Rome, He began his musical studies under the guidance of his father, Ennio Morricone. He then studied under Ivan Vandor, Ada Gentile, and Irma Ravinale. In 1994 he received his diploma in Music Composition from the Conservatory of Saint Cecilia in Rome.In 1996 he received his diploma as Orchestra Conductor, studying with Maestro Bruno Aprea, also at Saint Cecilia Conservatory. In 1998 he received a Master degree in Music Composition at the National Academy of Saint Cecilia, studying under Maestro Franco Donatoni and Maestro Azio Corghi. He has composed, orchestrated, and conducted the scores for several feature films including Liberty Heights direccted by Barry Levinson, Here on Earth directed by M. Piznarski Ciao America directed by Frank Ciota, Due Amici directed by Scimone-Sframeli, Capturing the Friedmans directed by Andrew Jarecki (winner of Sundance Film Festival 2003), Raul directed by Andrea Bolognini, Funny Money by Leslie Grief, Brando by Leslie Giref and Mimi Firedman, and several films on which he collaborated with Ennio Morricone. Sting has recorded his song “My Heart and I,” and Gérard Depardieu performed his song “Ricordare” on the soundtrack of Tornatore’s film A Pure Formality.In 1990, he received the BAFTHA (British Academy Award) for the love theme in the movie Nuovo Cinema Paradiso directed by G. Tornatore. The theme is featured on Paradiso, the latest Sony Classical recording by Yo-Yo Ma. On November 2004 conducted YO-YO MA and the USC Thornton Chamber Orchestra in a special concert and symposium, featuring a screening of the films. He is a member of the Italian Institute for Music Theater.
Giovanna Zamboni Paulis, Board Member - After having obtained a law degree from the University of Roma, Giovanna followed her husband, a pathologist involved in scientific research, to the United States, Canada and Sweden. In 1979, they settled in Los Angeles where she decided to dedicate herself to the promotion of Italian culture in its multifaceted aspects. In 1985, she started her activity as director of cultural events for the Italian Heritage Culture Foundation, a non-profit corporation. This position involved overall strategic planning as well as establishing contacts with museums, universities and other institutions. A wide variety of initiatives reflecting contemporary Italian cultural reality were presented in a large number of museums, theaters and other venues around Southern California. In addition, she collaborated with several Italian Cultural Institutes in the United States and Canada. From 1995 to 2005 she was engaged by the Istituto Italiano di Cultura in Los Angeles as curator of exhibitions through which she introduced numerous shows in the context of art, design and architecture to the California audience. On June 2, 1999, the Italian government bestowed her with the title of “Ufficiale della Repubblica Italiana”
Diane Ghirardo, Board Member - Diane Ghirardo teaches history and theory of architecture at USC, with special emphasis on 20th century Italian architecture, gender and architecture, Italian Renaissance architecture and urbanism, and contemporary criticism. Before coming to USC, she taught at Stanford University and Texas A & M. Her books include Building New Communities: New Deal America and Fascist Italy, (translated into Italian in 2003), Mark Mack, and Architecture After Modernism, which has been translated into five languages and won a USC Phi Kappa Phi Award 1997. She edited Out of Site in 1991, essays on social aspects of architecture, in addition to numerous articles in journals in the United States and Europe. In 1985, she served as the American juror at the Venice Biennale, and in 1988 she became a Fellow of the American Academy in Rome (FAAR). She has lectured at universities throughout the United States, Europe, Africa and Australia, including lectures at the universities of Parma, Padova and Torino in Italy, in 2004. Her current research focuses on women’s spaces in a Renaissance Italian city, Ferrara. 
Cristina Berio, Board Member
Paola De Mari, Board Member - 
Paola Lorenzi, Founding Member - A native of Italy, she began her teaching career by successfully creating and developing Italian language courses for American executives of the Italian national oil company, Agip. She then continued her career to a tenured track position at Texas A&M University where she established the Italian language program. From 1989 to the present, she has been serving as assistant professor of Italian at Pepperdine University. She collaborated with the Chancellor Emeritus and former President, Dr. Norvel Young, to realize the dream of a Pepperdine campus in Florence with the support and generosity of benefactors and alumni. In 1999, with the financial support of the Italian Cultural Institute, she developed a minor program in Italian which has grown under her leadership to be second highest enrolment in the language division. The Italian government bestowed her with the title of “Ufficiale della Repubblica Italiana”