Founder & Board Of Directors
Girotondo Italian Academy is a non-profit school has a dedicated volunteer
board composed of parents of our school and member of the Italian &
American community. The Board meets regularly with the main purpose being
to assist the Executive Director with operational issues surrounding the
school, including fundraising and community involvement. Girotondo Italian
Academy Board members also contribute ideas to the strategy and vision of
the school , and give the Executive Director valuable feedback on school
activities and goals.
If you are interested in ways to become more involved in our preschool,
please contact Rosalia Pusateri-Gissendaner/Rosella Pusateri, Executive
Director (rosella@girotondoschool.org).
Rosalia Pusateri-Gissendaner/Rosella Pusateri, Girotondo
Italian Academy Founder and Executive Director - a Native Italian from Milan
Rosella holds a degree in Business from Bocconi University. After graduating,
Rosella, traveled extensively throughout the world and worked for various
international companies, including Procter & Gamble Johnson & Johnson,
Nestles. She also lived in Africa and Thailand working as Guest Relation
manager in the hospitality Business. Rosella left the corporate world settling
in California 1996 where she went back to study business at UC Berkeley.
In 1999 she accepted the position of Marketing Manager for Wells Fargo Bank
in San Francisco. Rosella has lived in Marin these past 8 years and met
her husband, David, while sailing in Sausalito’s Richardson Bay. They have
a beautiful son, Luca, who was born on their Schooner. Luca has been attending
Girotondo Italian Academy since he was a little boy, now is 6 years and
he is fluent in Italian, Spanish, and English. Rosella's other passion is
exercise and competitive sports. Rosella is an athlete that trains regularly.
Rosella opened the school in the 2004. Her son Luca currently attends K
& First Grade at Girotondo.
Ilia Salomone-Smith, Educational Advisor, GIS Foundation Board member
Ilia Salomone-Smith grew up in a bilingual, bicultural home and later studied
at the University of Florence in Italy. She has taught Italian Language
at SF State, City College of San Francisco and presently at the College
of Marin. In 1987, Ilia founded and directed Primo Programma for Children,
the first nonprofit organization in the Bay Area dedicated to teaching Italian
to children through a unique hands-on approach. She has also worked with
students with dyslexia, focusing on English language skills acquisition
through a multi-sensory approach and also working as a consultant in both
independent and public schools. Her volunteer activities and commitment
to culture and education were recognized in 1994, when the Italian Republic
honored her with “Cavaliere della Repubblica” a knight of the republic.
Ilia currently serves on the Girotondo Italian School Board as an Educational
Advisor.
Rosemary Castorina GIS Foundation Board member
Rosemary Castorina received her Master’s degree in Public Health, and her
doctoral degree in Environmental Health Sciences, from the University of
California, Berkeley. Rosemary is currently a Research Associate with the
Center for Children’s Environmental Health Research at UC Berkeley. Previously,
Rosemary has worked with the World Resources Institute, the California EPA
Office of Environmental Hazard Assessment, Environmental Defense, and the
U.S. EPA Public Health and Environmental Policy Team. She is also Cofounder
of StudyCell (www.studycell.com), a Berkeley-based company dedicated to
creating educational software for cell phones. Rosemary’s twins Giulia and
Isaac attend Kindergarten at Girotondo.
Matteo Daste GIS Foundation Board member
Matteo Daste is a corporate and securities lawyer in San Francisco. A native
of Genoa, Italy, Matteo also provides advice in international matters involving
U.S. and Italian interests. His past experience includes clerking for Chief
Justice Charles Springer at the Supreme Court of Nevada. Matteo studied
at Taunton's College and at the London School of Economics in England, and
at Pepperdine University, in Los Angeles, from which he received a law degree
in 1999. A co-founder of BAIA, Matteo sits on the Board and contributes
strategy, vision and structure to the organization. Matteo lives in San
Rafael with his wife Audrey and their two children Luca and Giovanni. Luca
has been coming to Girotondo since he was 1½ years old.
Elizabeth Gerhardy-di Carpegna GIS Foundation Board member
Liz Gerhardy-di Carpegna is a native Californian with a Business degree
from The University of Arizona, and her husband Rufo is an architect from
Rome. After spending many years of multi store management in the fashion
retail world, she met her husband on the West coast. Both Liz and Rufo share
a mutual love of sailing, and after an extended honeymoon sailing their
boat in the Sea of Cortez and the Mexican Riviera, they decided to settle
in Marin County. Liz and Rufo live in San Anselmo, and have two daughters
Frances and Allegra. Frances has been attending Girotondo since she was
one year old.
Andria Langenberg E-script coordinator
Andria Langenberg has lived in San Francisco and Marin most of her adult
life, having moved to the US as a child from the Netherlands. She is happily
trilingual thanks to the original efforts and requirements of her Italian
mother and Dutch father. Her youngest son, Liam, has attended Girotondo
for the past two years, currently in the Kindergarten class, and she is
delighted to see his language skills developed and reinforced. Andria is
a physician and completed her training at UCSF. She is committed to helping
support Girotondo through the leveraging of merchant-based contributions
with the eScrip program (www.escrip.com).