Ciao a tutti –
The health and safety of our members remains our number one priority. We are following closely the guidance of our local public health experts, the World Health Organization, and the CDC regarding the threat and spread of COVID-19 and are carefully assessing the impact of this outbreak.
A few days ago, all news reports and public health experts stated that the risk to the general public was low, and therefore we said it was our intention to go forward with our meeting next Wednesday, March 11.
However, the situation has continued to evolve and the guidance from local public health professionals changed in the last 24 hours to strongly advise all people who were at greater risk (those who are over 60 or with a history of respiratory or immune disease issues) to avoid if possible large public gatherings. They also recommend that community group organizations either postpone or cancel events for the upcoming weeks.
For these reasons, we have decided to POSTPONE the Pasta Dinner and English Language presentation scheduled for next Wednesday, March 11. We hope to reschedule Pat Hoffman’s talk for a date later this Spring if scheduling allows.
We will continue to monitor the situation and make a decision about whether to cancel the March 25 Italian meeting closer to that date.
We understand this is a developing situation, and as such our policy will be responsive and in-line with the recommendations of Washington State and King County Public Health departments.
A presto –
Dan DeMatteis,
President, Dante Alighieri Society of Washington
Gabriella Vagnoli was born in Pisa, Tuscany, home of the famous Leaning Tower. She grew up in a multicultural family thanks to her Brazilian mom and remembers teaching Italian for the first time as a child to her Brazilian cousins. She obtained a Laurea in English and Spanish Language and Literature at the Università degli Studi di Pisa and during her college years spent a year in the University of Reading, UK, studying mainly the works of Shakespeare. After obtaining a Certificate as a Teacher of Italian (DITALS II) at the Università per Stranieri di Siena, she has taught in a full immersion school in Florence, a children's full immersion program in Chicago and a Community College in Illinois.
Tiziana was born and raised in Sardinia, a beautiful Italian island in the Mediterranean Sea. She has always been passionate about foreign languages and cultures, and studied French and German at the Scuola Superiore Interpreti e Traduttori in Milan, where she obtained her first Foreign Languages and Interpreter BA degree. She then pursued her MA in English and German Language and Literature at IULM, one of the most prestigious universities in Milan, Italy for Language and Communication studies.
Nicla is a native of Napoli, Italy. She has a Laurea in Materie Letterarie (degree in humanities) and a Laurea in Pedagogia (degree in Education) from the Università degli Studi di Cassino. She earned her M.A in Italian and her PhD in Comparative Literature from the University of Washington. She has published articles and book chapters on gender and theater as well as politics and religion in Counter-Reformation Italy and in the last years, has been teaching Italian literature, language, and culture in different institutions. In addition to teaching in our program, Nicla is authorized to cover the role of esaminatrice and intervistatrice in our PLIDA Examination Board.
Born in the fabulous 80’s, Isabella was raised in Rome where she got her Degree in Teaching and Translation in foreign languages at the University ‘La Sapienza’.
Eric was born and raised in Como by an American mother and an Italian father. He holds a degree in Business Administration and Management from Bocconi University in Milan and a Master’s in Corporate and International Finance from Durham University in the UK. His international background led him to pursue a business career in the United States, ultimately settling in Seattle, where his wife grew up.