The Board
Maria Mihaela Barbieru
President
She is a sworn translator and interpreter since 2012, intercultural mediator and foreign language trainer.
She holds a Master Degree in Intercultural competence and management at the University of Verona.
She manages courses and projects of intercultural communication and mediation alongside Italian and French associations.
She also conducts and shares my researches and findings with some European universities. Intercultural communication is one of my core activities, as authentic intercultural relationships shall not exist if the main tool of the relationship – which is the communication – do not exist.”
She is aware that culture and langue, whether ignored and disrespected, may affect business. In a globalized context, where each market imposes certain communicative codes, an “own-tailored culture, and language”, we must be aware of the new intercultural competences, of the new indicators of successful business and the effective language of the Intercultural management.
Chiara Martinelli
Board Member
Chiara is a senior trainer and consultant in Organization & HR Development. She believes that building bridges across cultures is one of the most important challenges of our times and of her profession. She has always acted as a trait-d’union between the local companies and the associations where she worked and their international partners (Headequartess, Europan Associations, etc.). As a consultant, she managed various international projects. In the timeframe 2007-2013 Chiara held the permanent Secretariat of ETDF (European Training & Development Federation) and represented it in LLL- platform (LifeLong Learning Platform – http://lllplatform.eu/ ).
Elizabeth Abbott
Treasury
Originally from the US, Elizabeth has been in Rome, Italy for over 30 years. With a Masters of Science in Management and experience in international development and global cultural exchange, she is an intercultural specialist, ICF-certified coach and trainer guiding and supporting individuals and teams to succeed in international environments.
Cristina Volpi
Board Member
Editor of CoachingZone on-line magazine about coaching, counselling and mentoring. Coach in the areas: management, intercultural communication, career and orientation; adopting a personal mixture of Comunicazione Strategica and metaphors, registered as CoachingSkills. Fluents in English and French, can work also speaking Portuguese and German. Has published several books and articles (including crime stories) about the relationship between rules and behaviours.
Elio Vera
Board Member
Elio VERA studied economics, 20 years working in marketing. Co-founder and now honorary president of CESMA From 1997 to 2015, member of the board of ASFOR, coordinating research on diversity in the workplace. Was part of the European steering committee that started EQUIS. He trains international executives in Italian Managerial Culture. Former Executive Corner Editor of CROSS CULTURAL MANAGEMENT. He consulted on organization in Bulgaria, Peru, Russia, Spain, and Switzerland. Since 1998, has organized annually in Italy with the Tavistock Institute group relations conferences called ALI – Authority, Leadership and Innovation.
Gradiola Kapaj
Board Member
Gradiola was born in Albania, where she graduated in Finance. In Austria, she finished her Master’s in International Business Management and worked with SIETAR Europa as a Congress Coordinator for 2017 Dublin Congress. Since 2017 she is heavily involved with SIETAR Italy in helping the organization to grow. Currently, she is getting certified in Project Management and organizing SIETAR Europa’s 2019 Congress. She speaks fluently Albanian, English and Italian, and has a conversational level of German and Spanish.
