Our committee

Skylar grew up in Elizabethtown, KY and moved to New York to pursue her B.A. in Linguistics and Italian and her M.A. in Multilingual and Multicultural Studies at NYU. She taught Italian and ENL at High School for Environmental Studies in Manhattan from 2018-2022. She has helped the ITA to grow by developing various workshops targeting the needs of teachers and educators in the community. 

Skylar currently works at CIEE (Council On International Educational Exchange) on the High School Summer Abroad team where she works with schools to promote scholarship opportunities for study abroad, including CIEE's Italian Language & Culture program in Rome.

Contact: skylarkim815@gmail.com

Lina Rocchio was born in Gallo Matese, Italy and is an Italian and Spanish teacher at Stuyvesant High School in Manhattan. She graduated in 1974 from Hunter College with a B.A. in Languages. She earned her M.A. from the New York Institute of Technology. Besides her teaching duties, Ms. Rocchio is advisor to the Cultural Preservation Club at Stuyvesant High School. She received an IACE grant, funded by the Italian Consulate of New York, in 2019 to initiate an innovative course called “Art in Italian” for high school curriculums.

Contact: procchi@schools.nyc.gov

Rosa is a former president of the ITA. She was formerly a World Language and ESL teacher and principal in the NYCDOE. She is a retired clinical assistant professor at NYU's Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development. She is currently co-Chair of the NYU ELL Think Tank, coordinator of the NYU Summer Institutes for Teachers of World Languages, and coordinator of the NYU Social Responsibilities of Educator’s Courses in the Dept. of Teaching and Learning.

 
Contact: 212-998-7388 or 917-912-5605, rp1018@nyu.edu or rmrp@aol.com

Lucrezia served as a Language Teacher and Department Chair at Eastchester Union Free School District for 31 years. She is currently an adjunct professor of Italian and Foreign Language Liaison of Early College Education High School Partnerships at Westchester Community College, Valhalla, NY. 

She is the President of the National Italian Honor Society/Societa Onoraria Italica and Board Member of Italian American Committee of Education (IACE); Italian Heritage and Culture Committee (IHCC, Inc.); Westchester Coalition of Italian American Organizations, Trustee of the SOI, Garibaldi Lodge.

Lucrezia is the author of Edmondo DeAmici’s Cuore Tre racconti, Ed. Soleil; Cultura Italiana di regione in regione, Edizioni Farinelli; Co-author of Italian for Communication Textbook and Workbook, Curriculum Press; Cinque film italiani, Ed. Soleil;  La donna arbëreshe ieri, oggi, domani...tra sacro e profano, Edizioni Il Coscile.

Contact: societaonorariait@gmail.com or lglindia@hotmail.com

Gabrielle has been teaching Italian and Spanish at the high school level since 2012. She holds a Master’s in Italian and Secondary Education from CUNY Hunter College and is pursuing her second Master’s in Spanish Language and Literature from CUNY Queens College.

 
Gabrielle began working in the NYC Department of Education in 2016. She currently teaches at Newtown High School in Queens, where she coordinates the National Exam Program for students of Italian, French and Spanish, and moderates the Multicultural Club.

She has two boys: David Antonio and Daniel Andrés. Gabrielle enjoys reading, traveling, cooking and is passionate about sharing the best of Italian culture and heritage with her students.

Contact: gpati@schools.nyc.gov

Rosemary DeMaio teaches Italian levels 1-6 at Preston High School. In addition to teaching, she serves a multitude of roles in her school community: she is Chairperson of World Languages at Preston, Seal of Biliteracy Coordinator, Coordinator of College classes at the High School, Moderator of the Italian Club and Italian Honor Society, and board member of the National Honor Society. 

Contact: rdemaio@prestonhs.org

Francesca was born in Brooklyn but lived in Palermo for most of her life. She started her career 16 years ago in Italy teaching English and Spanish to high school students. She attended Fordham University as an undergraduate student and graduated in 2006 with a double major in Italian Language and Literature and International Intercultural Studies and a minor in Spanish Language and Literature. She earned her Master’s degree in TESOL in 2017 from ACE.

In 2015, Francesca began teaching at Brooklyn Studio Secondary School. She has taught 7th grade science, high school nutrition, and middle school and high school Italian. Recently, she has primarily taught 8th grade Italian and has taken on the role of the 10th Grade ENL teacher. 

Francesca recently won a grant to create an Exploring Italy class for her high school students. This course gives them a unique opportunity to virtually explore major cities in Italy in real time with local tour guides via Zoom. Students also learn about the culture and history of the country, which was an especially exciting opportunity during remote learning.

Contact: fdavi@schools.nyc.gov 

As a proud first generation born Italian American, Antonio possesses a love for his heritage, its language and rich culture. As a teacher of Italian and liaison of the Modern Language Department at Brewster High School in Brewster, NY, Antonio encourages his students to travel the world through his planned trips to Europe. 

Currently, Antonio is the Interim Vice President of the Westchester Coalition of Italian American Organizations. 

Antonio was awarded the Dr. Leonard Covello Distinguished Educator of the Year by the ITA in June 2022 and is eager to contribute as a committee member. Just as he aims to inspire his students with his passion of exploring Italy, the world, learning the nuances of the Italian language and the authentic Italian pastimes, he is inspired by this organization which offers so many educational and life changing opportunities to the Italian Education Community and its youth.

Contact: sigfranze@aol.com