Dr Sanchini is a folklorist, oral historian, and curator at the Canadian Museum of History. Before joining the Museum in 2015, Dr Sanchini worked at Memorial University of Newfoundland and at the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21. She is interested in the culture of everyday life, cultural expression, and the creation of meaning and memory. Dr Sanchini completed her PhD in Folklore at Memorial University of Newfoundland. She also holds a BA in History (First Class Honours) from McGill University, and an MA in Folklore from Memorial University of Newfoundland.

Dr. Teresa Russo, Associate Fellow of Frank Iacobucci Centre for Italian Canadian Studies, teaches at University of Toronto and guest lectures in the Colleges of Arts at University of Guelph and with the Faculty of Humanities at Brock University. She edited Recognition and Modes of Knowledge: Anagnorisis from Antiquity to Contemporary Theory on ancient and modern recognition theories and Landscapes of Writing: Collected Essays of Bapsi Sidhwa on the topic of transnationalism and immigration with a foreword by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Deepa Mehta. In the Italian program, Russo supervises the Archival Research of Italian Canadian Immigration and Culture (ARICIC) for University College and Brock University and Italian Communities in Canada: Heritage, Cultural and Ethnographic Studies for the University of Guelph. Her students’ contributions to ARICIC led to a youth leadership award in heritage conservation from the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario (2020) and oral histories from Italian Communities in Canada were selected for a national exhibit at the Columbus Centre (2022).

Sarah McCabe MLIS MA is an information professional with a background in business administration and historical research. She lives in Toronto and has worked with The Ontario Historical Society, a founding sponsor of ICAP, as project manager and librarian since 2015.

Secretary

Kate Squissato holds a Master of Museum Studies and a Master of Information from the University of Toronto. She currently works as the Collections Coordinator & Registrar for the Region of Waterloo Museums and Archives. Ms. Squissato has over eight years of experience working in the heritage sector and has previously worked as the Collections Manager at the Lloydminster Museum and Archives and as the Collections and Exhibitions Manager at the Stratford Perth Museum. Over the course of her career, Ms. Squissato has curated several exhibits including From Surviving to Thriving, Liberation, and Chinese Languages in Canada. With a strong background in working with community museums, Ms. Squissato is very familiar with collaborating with local groups and individuals to capture significant moments in history. She strongly believes in the importance of collecting and telling the stories of underrepresented, or previously underrepresented, groups and in preserving important histories before they disappear. Ms. Squissato is thrilled to be assisting in the preservation of Italian-Canadian stories like those told to her by her grandfather who immigrated to Canada in 1924 from Piombino Dese in Italy.

Rob Leverty est actuellement directeur général de la Société historique de l’Ontario

www.ontariohistoricalsociety.ca

Rob a grandi dans une ferme de moutons dans l’ancien canton de North York. Depuis 1973, Rob et sa partenaire Annie ont eu une ferme biologique dans la vallée de Beaver, dans le comté de Grey, qui est désignée naturelle et protégée dans le plan de l’escarpement du Niagara. Leur ferme dispose d’une servitude de conservation du patrimoine sécurisant un corridor faunique et protégeant les ressources en eau souterraine et en eau de surface importantes pour l’environnement. Le Bruce Trail Conservancy a un itinéraire de randonnée permanent à travers leur ferme. Rob a également travaillé sur des projets de développement environnemental et rural au Canada et à l’étranger, notamment en France, en Inde, en Indonésie, aux Philippines, en Amérique du Sud et aux Nations Unies à New York. Depuis 2015, Rob est président de la Fondation de l’escarpement du Niagara, une société à but non lucratif et un organisme de bienfaisance enregistré, dont le mandat est de mener des recherches et d’éduquer le public sur l’environnement naturel et l’histoire culturelle de l’escarpement du Niagara en Ontario, une biosphère mondiale. Réserve.

www.nefoundation.ca

Conseiller International

Javier P. Grossutti est né en Argentine. Après avoir obtenu un diplôme en sciences politiques à l’Université de Buenos Aires, il s’installe en Italie, où il obtient son doctorat en géographie politique et économique à l’Université de Trieste. Ses principaux domaines d’étude sont l’émigration depuis l’Italie et la région du Frioul, les réseaux d’entrepreneurs des communautés ethniques, la migration de retour et les problèmes liés aux communautés italiennes et frioulanes à l’étranger ; il a en effet réalisé de nombreuses études dans ces domaines pour les universités de Trieste, Trento et Udine. Il a effectué des recherches en collaboration avec les universités de Columbia (New York, États-Unis), Caen (France), Buenos Aires, Quilmes, Cuyo-Mendoza et Patagonie (Argentine) et la Vallée de l’Itajai (Brésil). Il a enseigné des cours sur l’émigration et la migration de retour des Italiens pour les universités d’Udine et de Trieste. En 2007 et 2008, il a été chercheur invité associé à l’Académie italienne d’études avancées en Amérique à l’Université Columbia à New York. En 2014, il obtient une bourse de recherche à court terme du Winterthur Museum (Winterthur, Delaware, USA). La même année, il a été chercheur invité à l’Université de technologie de Swinburne (SUT). Il occupe actuellement le poste de chercheur invité adjoint à la Faculté de la santé, des arts et du design.

Carrie-Ann Smith est titulaire d’une maîtrise en bibliothéconomie et sciences de l’information de l’Université Dalhousie à Halifax. Elle est devenue membre de la Pier 21 Society à l’été 1998 et occupe actuellement le poste de Device-President, Public Engagement Officer au Musée canadien de l’immigration du Quai 21. Mme Smith (ne vous fiez pas à son nom de famille) est un descendant de Federico et Mabli Artuso de San Martino di Lupari; elle a écrit une histoire sur sa vie de jeune italo-canadienne grandissant à Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, paru dans Mamma Mia: Good Italian Girls Talk Back (ECW Press). L’objectif de Mme Smith de travailler au Musée, qui est d’aider à recueillir, préserver et faire connaître les souvenirs des immigrants qui sont venus au Canada, la motive également à contribuer au travail de l’ICAP.

Sandra Parmegiani enseigne les études italiennes et européennes à l’Université de Guelph et a été présidente de la Société canadienne d’études italiennes (juin 2014 à juin 2017). Dans le passé, elle a enseigné la littérature et la langue italiennes au Trinity College de Dublin (Irlande) et à l’Université de Western Ontario. Ses recherches portent sur la littérature et la culture italiennes du XVIIIe siècle et de la période contemporaine. Depuis 2013, grâce à une bourse obtenue de Mitacs, elle encadre des travaux postdoctoraux sur la cartographie des ressources culturelles immatérielles par l’analyse de la culture de la lecture.

Gabriel Niccoli est titulaire d’un doctorat. en littérature comparée de l’Université de la Colombie-Britannique et professeur émérite d’études médiévales et d’études françaises et italiennes à l’Université St. Jerome, affiliée à l’Université de Waterloo. Il y a dirigé le département pendant dix-sept ans et a reçu le Distinguished Professor Award. Il a publié de nombreux ouvrages sur la théorie dramatique italienne et française des XVIe et XVIIe siècles et sur les écrivaines italiennes de la Renaissance. Il a édité un volume intitulé Ricordi et publié des essais sur des études liées à l’immigration italo-canadienne. Il édite actuellement un recueil d’essais critiques sur le thème du nostos, ou du retour à la maison après un long voyage. Le professeur Niccoli a reçu des honneurs en Italie et au Canada et a été vice-consul honoraire d’Italie en Ontario. Il est très actif comme animateur et promoteur culturel au sein des communautés italo-canadiennes de la côte ouest et de l’Ontario.

Nancy Marrelli est archiviste émérite à l’Université Concordia et archiviste du nouveau Centre d’archives de la Communauté italo-canadienne du Québec. Elle est co-éditrice de Vehicule Press, une maison d’édition montréalaise. Elle participe activement aux activités professionnelles d’archivage au Canada, aux États-Unis et à l’international; ses travaux et publications en français et en anglais portent sur le droit d’auteur, la conservation, le patrimoine du monde de la danse, divers aspects de l’histoire de Montréal et les archives audiovisuelles. Elle a animé de nombreux ateliers et conférences et anime actuellement une série de webinaires en français et en anglais sur le droit d’auteur pour le Conseil canadien des archives. Mme Marrelli travaille également dans les domaines de la création littéraire et de l’édition.

Michael Iannozzi est diplômé de l’Université Western. Ses recherches portent sur la documentation linguistique, la sociolinguistique et la sensibilisation du public. Il s’intéresse particulièrement au dialecte anglais du sud-ouest de l’Ontario et aux dialectes italiens des communautés italiennes du Canada. M. Iannozzi travaille avec Caroline Di Cocco pour documenter les histoires de vie de la communauté italo-canadienne de Sarnia, notamment par la numérisation de vieilles photos et bandes, et pour concevoir un site Web pour promouvoir ces morceaux uniques d’histoire. du Canada, un projet soutenu par les archives de Sarnia-Lambton. M. Iannozzi s’identifie autant à un Canadien d’origine italienne qu’à un Canadien d’une petite ville. Ses grands-parents paternels, nés à Castelliri (Frosinone) ont immigré à Sarnia en 1960. Ses grands-parents maternels, agriculteurs depuis 62 ans, fêteront bientôt leur 70e anniversaire de mariage. C’est un honneur pour M. Iannozzi de documenter et de préserver les histoires des Italo-Canadiens.

Cristina Caracchini est titulaire d’une maîtrise en littérature italienne de l’Université de Florence et d’un doctorat en littérature comparée de l’Université de Montréal. Elle est professeure agrégée de littérature italienne et comparée à l’Université Western Ontario (UWO) et vice-présidente de l’Association canadienne d’études italiennes (ACEI). Elle est l’auteur de Cognizione e discorso poetico (2009) et de plusieurs articles sur les écrivains italo-canadiens, et co-éditeur, avec Enrico Minardi, du volume Ilpensiero della poesia (2017). Avec des collègues du programme d’études italiennes, Mme Caracchini a organisé des événements communautaires parrainés par l’UWO et la communauté italo-canadienne à Londres, y compris la conférence nationale ICAP en 2016.

Vice-président

Abril Liberatori est professeur adjoint et titulaire de la chaire Mariano A. Elia en études italo-canadiennes à l’Université York. Historienne de formation, ses recherches portent sur les expériences des Italo-Canadiens au XXe siècle. Elle s’intéresse particulièrement à la formation de l’identité ethnique, ainsi qu’au genre, à l’histoire transnationale et orale. Elle a publié des articles sur des sujets tels que la langue, la mémoire, la musique et la nourriture chez les immigrants italiens en Amérique du Nord et du Sud.

Président

Gabriella Colussi Arthur est professeure émérite et chercheuse principale au Département de langues, littératures et linguistique de l’Université York. Ses principaux domaines d’expertise sont l’enseignement de la langue et de la culture italiennes du niveau élémentaire au niveau avancé, la pédagogie de la langue italienne, la traduction italien-anglais et les études italo-canadiennes. Sa publication, From Inspiration to Reality (2012), utilise des sources écrites et orales pour documenter les efforts derrière le lancement de VLG Charities et la planification et la construction de la résidence de soins de longue durée, Villa Leonardo Gambin. Sa thèse de doctorat, Réflexions méthodologiques sur la narration italo-canadienne (2014), propose une méthodologie en trois parties – ampleur, profondeur et forme – pour la collecte d’histoires de familles immigrantes. Elle a publié sur l’immigration frioulane en Colombie-Britannique (Zoppola, Zoppolani and Migration to Western Canada: A Sample Study) et a appliqué les trois voix de la représentation au roman d’entrevue de Turcinovich Giuricin, Maddalena ha gli occhi viola (2019). Elle est actuellement présidente de l’ICAP et membre du conseil d’administration de la Société historique de l’Ontario.

Rob Leverty è attualmente il Direttore Esecutivo della Ontario Historical Society

www.ontariohistoricalsociety.ca

Rob è cresciuto in un allevamento di pecore nell’ex Township di North York. Dal 1973, Rob e la sua compagna Annie hanno un’azienda agricola biologica nella Beaver Valley, nella contea di Grey, designata come naturale e protetta nel Niagara Escarpment Plan. La loro fattoria ha una servitù per la conservazione del patrimonio che protegge un corridoio della fauna selvatica e protegge le acque sotterranee e le risorse idriche superficiali significative dal punto di vista ambientale. Il Bruce Trail Conservancy ha un percorso escursionistico permanente attraverso la loro fattoria. Rob ha anche lavorato a progetti di sviluppo ambientale e rurale in Canada e all’estero, tra cui Francia, India, Indonesia, Filippine, in Sud America e alle Nazioni Unite a New York. Dal 2015, Rob è il presidente della Niagara Escarpment Foundation, una società senza scopo di lucro e un ente di beneficenza registrato, con il mandato di condurre ricerche ed educare il pubblico sull’ambiente naturale e sulla storia culturale della scarpata del Niagara dell’Ontario, una biosfera mondiale Riserva.

www.nefoundation.ca

Consulente Internazionale

Javier P. Grossutti è nato in Argentina. Dopo aver conseguito la laurea in scienze politiche presso l’Università di Buenos Aires, si è trasferito in Italia, dove ha conseguito il dottorato in geografia politica ed economica presso l’Università di Trieste. I suoi principali campi di studio sono l’emigrazione dall’Italia e dal Friuli, le reti di imprenditori di comunità etniche, le migrazioni di ritorno e le problematiche legate alle comunità italiane e friulane all’estero; ha infatti svolto numerose indagini in questi campi per le università di Trieste, Trento e Udine. Ha svolto attività di ricerca in collaborazione con le università di Columbia (New York, Stati Uniti), Caen (Francia), Buenos Aires, Quilmes, Cuyo-Mendoza e Patagonia (Argentina) e la Valle dell’Itajai (Brasile). Ha tenuto corsi sull’emigrazione e la migrazione di ritorno degli italiani per le università di Udine e Trieste. Nel 2007 e nel 2008 è stato visiting scholar associato all’Italian Academy for Advanced Studies in America presso la Columbia University di New York. Nel 2014 ha ottenuto un assegno di ricerca a breve termine dal Museo di Winterthur (Winterthur, Delaware, USA). Nello stesso anno è stato Visiting Fellow presso la Swinburne University of Technology (SUT). Attualmente ricopre la posizione di Adjunct Visiting Scholar presso la Facoltà di Sanità, Arti e Design. ha ottenuto una borsa di studio a breve termine dal Museo di Winterthur (Winterthur, Delaware, USA). Nello stesso anno è stato Visiting Fellow presso la Swinburne University of Technology (SUT). Attualmente ricopre la posizione di Adjunct Visiting Scholar presso la Facoltà di Sanità, Arti e Design. ha ottenuto una borsa di studio a breve termine dal Museo di Winterthur (Winterthur, Delaware, USA). Nello stesso anno è stato Visiting Fellow presso la Swinburne University of Technology (SUT). Attualmente ricopre la posizione di Adjunct Visiting Scholar presso la Facoltà di Sanità, Arti e Design.

Carrie-Ann Smith ha conseguito un Master in Biblioteca e Scienze dell’Informazione presso la Dalhousie University di Halifax. È diventata membro della Pier 21 Society nell’estate del 1998 e attualmente ricopre la posizione di Device-President, Public Engagement Officer presso il Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21. Ms. Smith (non lasciarti ingannare dal suo cognome) è discendente di Federico e Mabli Artuso di San Martino di Lupari; ha scritto una storia sulla sua vita da giovane italo-canadese cresciuta a Saultste. Marie, Ontario, apparso in Mamma Mia: Good Italian Girls Talk Back (ECW Press). L’obiettivo della signora Smith di lavorare al Museo, che è quello di aiutare a raccogliere, preservare e far conoscere i ricordi degli immigrati che sono venuti in Canada, la motiva anche a contribuire al lavoro di ICAP.

Sandra Parmegiani insegna Italian and European Studies all’Università di Guelph ed è stata Presidente della Canadian Society for Italian Studies (giugno 2014-giugno-2017). In passato ha insegnato letteratura e lingua italiana al Trinity College di Dublino (Irlanda) e alla University of Western Ontario. La sua ricerca si concentra sulla letteratura e la cultura italiana del Settecento e della contemporaneità. Dal 2013, grazie a una borsa ottenuta dal Mitacs, segue il lavoro post-dottorato sulla mappatura delle risorse culturali attraverso l’analisi della cultura della lettura.

Gabriel Niccoli ha conseguito un dottorato di ricerca. in Letteratura Comparata presso l’Università della British Columbia ed è Professore Emerito di Studi Medievali e Studi Francesi e Italiani presso la St. Jerome’s University, affiliata all’Università di Waterloo. Ha diretto il Dipartimento per diciassette anni e ha ricevuto il Distinguished Professor Award. Ha pubblicato numerose opere sulla teoria drammatica italiana e francese del XVI e XVII secolo e sulle scrittrici italiane del Rinascimento. Ha curato un volume dal titolo Ricordi e pubblicato saggi su studi relativi all’immigrazione italo-canadese. Attualmente sta curando una raccolta di saggi critici sul tema del nostos, o del ritorno a casa dopo un lungo viaggio. Il Professor Niccoli ha ricevuto lodi sia in Italia che in Canada ed è stato Vice Console Onorario d’Italia in Ontario. È molto attivo come animatore e promotore culturale all’interno delle comunità italo-canadesi della costa occidentale e dell’Ontario.

Nancy Marrelli è Archivista Emerito presso la Concordia University e Archivista del nuovo Centro Archivistico della Comunità Italo-Canadese del Quebec. È co-editore di Vehicule Press, una casa editrice di Montreal. Partecipa attivamente ad attività di archiviazione professionale in Canada, negli Stati Uniti ea livello internazionale; il suo lavoro e le sue pubblicazioni in francese e inglese si concentrano sul diritto d’autore, la conservazione, il patrimonio del mondo della danza, vari aspetti della storia di Montreal e gli archivi audiovisivi. Ha facilitato numerosi workshop e conferenze e attualmente facilita una serie di webinar in francese e inglese sul diritto d’autore per il Canadian Council of Archives. La Sig.ra Marrelli lavora anche nel campo della creazione letteraria e dell’editoria.

Michael Iannozzi si è laureato alla Western University. La sua ricerca si concentra sulla documentazione linguistica, la sociolinguistica e la sensibilizzazione del pubblico. È particolarmente interessato al dialetto inglese dell’Ontario sudoccidentale e ai dialetti italiani delle comunità italiane in Canada. Il Sig. Iannozzi sta lavorando con Caroline Di Cocco per documentare le storie di vita della comunità italo-canadese di Sarnia, anche attraverso la digitalizzazione di vecchie foto e nastri, e per progettare un sito web per promuovere questi pezzi unici di storia. del Canada, un progetto sostenuto dagli Archivi Sarnia-Lambton. Il signor Iannozzi si identifica tanto come italo-canadese quanto come canadese di una piccola città. I suoi nonni paterni, nati a Castelliri (Frosinone) sono emigrati a Sarnia nel 1960. I suoi nonni materni, contadini da 62 anni, festeggeranno presto il loro 70° anniversario di matrimonio. È un onore per il Sig. Iannozzi documentare e preservare le storie degli italocanadesi.

Cristina Caracchini ha conseguito la laurea magistrale in Letterature italiane presso l’Università di Firenze e il dottorato in lettere comparate presso l’Università di Montreal. È professore associato di letteratura italiana e comparata presso l’Università dell’Ontario occidentale (UWO) e vicepresidente della Canadian Association for Italian Studies (ACEI). È autrice di Cognizione e discorso poetico (2009) e di diversi articoli sugli scrittori italo-canadesi e co-curatrice, con Enrico Minardi, del volume Il pensiero della poesia (2017). Insieme ai colleghi del Programma di Studi Italiani, la signora Caracchini ha organizzato eventi comunitari sponsorizzati dall’UWO e dalla comunità italo-canadese a Londra, inclusa la Conferenza Nazionale ICAP nel 2016.

Secretario

Maria Cioni insegna comunicazione all’Università di Toronto. Ha conseguito un dottorato presso l’Università di Cambridge in storia socio-giuridica del XVI secolo. Ha partecipato allo sviluppo di antologie, fino a quando ha intrapreso, nel 2001, una ricerca sulla vita del padre, che aveva realizzato il suo sogno di aprire un ristorante italiano a Calgary, nel marzo 1949. Nel 2006 ha pubblicato Spaghetti Western: How my Father Brought Spaghetti to the West, che esplora la cultura, la cucina e la comunità italiana di Calgary tra il 1926 e il 1958. La signora Cioni è un membro fondatore del Project Italian-Canadian Archives (ICAP), creato nel 2010; attualmente ricopre la carica di segretario.

Vice Presidente

Abril Liberatori è Assistant Professor e Mariano A. Elia Chair in Italian-Canadian Studies presso la York University. Di formazione storica, la sua ricerca si concentra sulle esperienze degli italo-canadesi nel XX secolo. È particolarmente interessata alla formazione dell’identità etnica, al genere, alla storia transnazionale e orale. Ha pubblicato articoli su temi quali lingua, memoria, musica e cibo tra gli immigrati italiani in Nord e Sud America.

Presidente

Gabriella Colussi Arthur è professoressa emerita e ricercatrice senior presso il Dipartimento di Letterature e Linguistica della York University. Le sue principali aree di competenza sono l’insegnamento della lingua e cultura italiana dal livello elementare al livello avanzato, la pedagogia della lingua italiana, la traduzione italiano-inglese e gli studi italo-canadesi. La sua pubblicazione, From Inspiration to Reality (2012), utilizza fonti cartacee e orali per documentare gli sforzi alla base del lancio di VLG Charities e della pianificazione e costruzione della residenza di cura a lungo termine, Villa Leonardo Gambin. La sua tesi di dottorato, Methodological Reflections in Italian-Canadian Storytelling (2014), propone una metodologia in tre parti – ampiezza, profondità e forma – per la raccolta di storie di famiglie immigrate. Ha pubblicato sull’immigrazione friulana nella Columbia Britannica (Zoppola, Zoppolani e Migration to Western Canada: A Sample Study) e, applicato le tre voci della rappresentazione, al romanzo intervista di Turcinovich Giuricin, Maddalena ha gli occhi viola (2019). Attualmente è Presidente dell’ICAP e membro del Consiglio di Amministrazione dell’Ontario Historical Society.

Rob Leverty is currently the Executive Director of The Ontario Historical Society

www.ontariohistoricalsociety.ca

Rob grew up on a sheep farm in the former Township of North York. Since 1973, Rob and his partner Anniehave had an organic working farm in the Beaver Valley, Grey County which is designated natural and protection in the Niagara Escarpment Plan. Their farm has a heritage conservation easement securing a wildlife corridor and protecting environmentally significant groundwater and surface water resources. The Bruce Trail Conservancy has a permanent hiking route through their farm. Rob has also worked on environmental and rural development projects across Canada and overseas, including France, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, in South America and at the United Nations in New York. Since 2015, Rob has been the President of The Niagara Escarpment Foundation, a not-for-profit corporation and registered charity, with a mandate to conduct research and educate the public on the natural environment and cultural history of Ontario’s Niagara Escarpment, a World Biosphere Reserve.

www.nefoundation.ca

International Advisor

Javier P. Grossutti was born in Argentina. After earning a degree in political science from the University of Buenos Aires, he moved to Italy, where he obtained his doctorate in political and economic geography at the University of Trieste. His main fields of study are emigration from Italy and the Friuli region, networks of entrepreneurs from ethnic communities, return migration and problems related to Italian and Friuli communities abroad; he has, in fact, carried out numerous surveys in these fields for the universities of Trieste, Trento and Udine. He has done research in collaboration with the universities of Columbia (New York, United States), Caen (France), Buenos Aires, Quilmes, Cuyo-Mendoza and Patagonia (Argentina) and the Valley of the ‘Itajai (Brazil). He has taught courses on emigration and return migration of Italians for the universities of Udine and Trieste. In 2007 and 2008 he was a visiting scholar associated with the Italian Academy for Advanced Studies in America at Columbia University in New York. In 2014, he obtained a short-term research grant from the Winterthur Museum (Winterthur, Delaware, USA). In the same year, he was a Visiting Fellow at Swinburne University of Technology (SUT). He currently holds the position of Adjunct Visiting Scholar in the Faculty of Health, Arts and Design. 

Dr. Pietro Pirani is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Languages and Cultures at Western University in London, Ontario, Canada, where he teaches Italian language and culture courses. In particular, he developed and is currently teaching “Stories of Italian-Canadians”, a course in which students discover the unique contribution that Italians have made to Canadian society by collecting stories from old and new immigrants. Moreover, he is also the coordinator at the Italian Language School. As part of the London District Catholic School Board, the Italian Language School provides language courses for children from Junior Kindergarten to Grade 8. Finally, he has coedited (with Dr. Maria Laura Mosco) The Concept of Resistance in Italy: Multidisciplinary Perspectives (2017) and published articles in peer-reviewed journals.

Carrie-Ann Smith holds a Masters in Library and Information Science from Dalhousie University in Halifax. She became a member of the Pier 21 Society in the summer of 1998 and currently holds the position of Device-President, Public Engagement Officer at the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21. Ms. Smith (don’t be fooled by her surname) is a descendant of Federico and Mabli Artuso of San Martino di Lupari; she wrote a story about her life as a young Italian-Canadian growing up in SaultSte. Marie, Ontario, which appeared in Mamma Mia: Good Italian Girls Talk Back (ECW Press). Ms. Smith’s goal of working at the Museum, which is to help collect, preserve and make known the memories of immigrants who came to Canada, also motivates her to contribute to the work of ICAP.

Sandra Parmegiani teaches Italian and European Studies at the University of Guelph and was the President of the Canadian Society for Italian Studies (June 2014 to June-2017). In the past, she taught Italian literature and language at Trinity College in Dublin (Ireland) and at the University of Western Ontario. His research focuses on Italian literature and culture of the 18th century and the contemporary period. Since 2013, thanks to a grant obtained from Mitacs, she supervises postdoctoral work on the mapping of intangible cultural resources through the analysis of reading culture.

Gabriel Niccoli holds a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from the University of British Columbia and is Professor Emeritus of Medieval Studies and French and Italian Studies at St. Jerome’s University, affiliated with the University of Waterloo. He was head of the Department there for seventeen years and received the Distinguished Professor Award. He has published several works on Italian and French dramatic theory of the 16th and 17th centuries and on Italian Renaissance women writers. He edited a volume entitled Ricordi and published essays on studies related to Italian-Canadian immigration. He is currently editing a collection of critical essays on the theme of nostos, or returning home after a long journey. Professor Niccoli has received honors both in Italy and in Canada and was Honorary Vice-Consul of Italy in Ontario.

Nancy Marrelli is Archivist Emerita at Concordia University and Archivist of the new Archives Center of the Italian-Canadian Community of Quebec. She is co-editor of Vehicule Press, a Montreal publishing house. She actively participates in professional archiving activities in Canada, the United States and internationally. Her work and publications in French and English focus on copyright, conservation, the heritage of the world of dance, various aspects of Montreal’s history and audiovisual archives. She has facilitated numerous workshops and conferences, and currently facilitates a series of webinars in French and English on copyright for the Canadian Council of Archives. Marrelli also works in the fields of literary creation and publishing. 

Treasurer

Michael Iannozzi is an instructor at Brock University. His research involves language documentation, sociolinguistics, and public outreach. The two primary areas of his research are the English dialect of Southwestern Ontario, and the Italian dialects spoken by Italian communities in Canada. Michael has worked with Caroline Di Cocco to record life histories of Sarnia’s Italian-Canadian community, including digitizing old photos and cassettes, and building a website to share these unique pieces of the Canadian story. His paternal grandparents were born in Castelliri, Frosinone, and immigrated to Sarnia in 1960. His maternal grandparents farmed outside Sarnia, Ontario for 62 years, and were married for 75 years. Michael is honoured to work to document and preserve the stories of Italian-Canadians.

Maria Stella Paola, a recent retiree with 35 yrs teaching experience (Religion, Italian and FSL) with WCDSB, was the recipient of the Torchbearer award in recognition of her profound impact on both staff and students. She was born in SSM, both parents originated from Figline Vegliaturo, Cosenza, Calabria. As a proud Italo-Canadese, she is immensely grateful for the collaboration between past Board Member , Editor Gabriel Niccoli, and Author Anna Ciardullo Villapiana, on their book, “Narrarsi Altrove – viaggio tra I cimelli e I luoghi dell’anima”, released through Rubbettino in the spring of 2023. She applied to the Mariano A. Elio Chair in Italian Studies and received full funding so that Anna could tour the book at several stops in Italy and also in Western Canada. She has organized several large-scale events, most notably led a group of 69 students/10 adults through Italy. Hired by EF Educational Tours as a Tour Director, Stella hopes to continue sharing her love of travel and passion for curiosity with future student travelers.

Vice President 

Dr. Vienna Paolantonio is an independent scholar and writer. Trained as a historian, her primary interest is the Italian diaspora in North America. Her interests include popular religion, material culture, ethnic identity formation and the experiences of the second generation. Paolantonio has written extensively about the Good Friday Procession in Toronto, and has been active in preserving the life stories of Italians in the Greater Toronto Area. Her current research explores the Italian experience in suburban neighbourhoods.

President

Abril Liberatori is Assistant Professor and Mariano A. Elia Chair in Italian-Canadian Studies at York University. Trained as a historian, her research focuses on the experiences of Italian Canadians in the 20th century. She is particularly interested in the formation of ethnic identity, as well as gender, the transnational and oral history. She has published articles on topics such as language, memory, music and food among Italian immigrants in North and South America. Liberatori is the Associate Editor of Italian Canadiana, Secretary of the Canadian Committee on Migration, Ethnicity, and Transnationalism (CCMET), and currently serves as Vice President of ICAP.

Co-Chair

The Kelowna Canadian Italian Club
 Gord Hotchkiss has been a storyteller for over 5 decades. His career in media and marketing established him as one of North America’s most highly regarded experts on the digital user experience. He has spoken at conferences and trade shows around the world and wrote the 2009 book “The Buyersphere Project: How Business Buys from Business in a Digital Marketplace.” His agency’s client list included Google, Yahoo, Microsoft, AIG, Allstate, Cigna, 3M, Grainger, Avis and many others.
 The agency he co-founded – Enquiro – was sold to the Yellow Media Group in Montreal in 2010. In 2012 he retired after 2 decades in digital marketing. After a stint running a very successful cycling tour company for 6 years, he developed an interest in local history during a forced hiatus thanks to the Covid Pandemic. As an adopted member of Kelowna’s Italian community (his wife Jilda is Italian) he became fascinated with the immigrant story and set out to document it. Working with the Kelowna Canadian Italian Club and his good friend Don Rampone, the two have made tremendous progress in collecting and sharing the stories of the many Italians who called Kelowna home.  Their Il Nostro Lascito (Our Legacy) project has won awards from both Heritage BC and the Central Okanagan Heritage Society. He also produced and directed the award-winning documentary The Casorsos: La Prima Famiglia.