The Board of FTFI Expands: Welcome Giuliano and Martina!

We are excited to announce that Giuliano Iannaccone and Martina Mirandola Mullen have joined the Friends of Teach for Italy Board.

Giuliano’s personal experience and understanding of the unique and daunting challenges the Italian educational system faces that drives him to help motivate and lift young people, regardless of their life circumstances, through access to educational opportunities. As a board member of Friends of Teach for Italy, Giuliano will bring his experience collaborating with Università Bocconi and his work with Talenti in Corso, a mentoring program he co-founded for Italians, to support and further the mission of Teach for Italy.

In the earlier part of her career, Martina worked for Teach For America as a Campus Campaign coordinator and lived in Italy to help build weekend travel adventures for abroad students in Venice and Rome. She also has a degree in Applied Linguistics/TESL and taught ESL as an adjunct professor at universities, and currently teaches English to NYC immigrants and teaches an Undergraduate Beverages Class at New York University. Martina is devoted to educational opportunity and committed to Italy, as seen in both her professional and personal endeavors, and is excited to bring her passion to Friends of Teach for Italy.

We are thrilled to have Giuliano and Martina join the Friends of Teach for Italy board, and help us grow our presence in the United States and in return support us to scale our educational programmes back in Italy. They both bring a deep understanding of the challenges Italy is facing and the importance in investing in the Italian educational system, as well as an expansive professional network and passion for giving back to Italy and ensuring its continued success internationally. We look forward to working with both of them to further our social mission outside of Italy and promote the incredible work we continue to do back at home.

Fellows Retreat in Palermo, Sicily: Collective Leadership inside and outside the classroom

In March, all 70 Teach For Italy Fellows met in Palermo, Sicily. Currently, there are eight Fellows in seven schools in Southern Italy (Sicily, Sardinia and Naples), and we placed the first Fellow in a school in Sicily in September 2023. School dropout is one of the most critical issues of the Sicilian education system, and beginning in September 2024, TFI will be expanding our presence in Southern Italy.

Three times a year, all current Fellows convene in various locations throughout Italy: these retreats are dedicated to providing continuous coaching and training, as well as professional development, and social impact projects that involve the communities working in schools throughout Italy. During the two-day retreat, the Fellows were able to meet community organizers working to bring a positive impact in the areas of Palermo that most suffer from poverty and educational disadvantages. Through workshops with the team, discussions and role-playing, the Fellows found an opportunity to grow within the community, for reflections and for renewing the energy they bring into their classrooms.

Read more about collective leadership here