SENTIERI - Key Persons
Daniela earned her Italian Doctorate in Foreign Languages and Literatures from the University of Pavia, Italy. She came to the U.S. in 1986 on a post-doctoral fellowship from Smith College, where she took classes in American Literature and was also a language assistant in the Italian Department.
Daniela taught Italian at Northwestern University, Loyola University and the University of Chicago. She currently teaches Italian at DePaul University as a faculty member in the Modern Languages Department. She also holds a DITALS Certification from the University of Siena. In 1998 Daniela founded Sentieri Italiani through which she shares her expertise in, and excitement for, the Italian language with both her colleagues and students.
Daniela Cavallero had a dream of starting an Italian Language School and Cultural Center in Chicago - un salotto italiano - a place that would link the people of Chicago with Italy. She nurtured her dream and in 1997 she established Sentieri Italiani, which literally means "Italian paths." A name that speaks to the converging paths of language and culture and all that Italy has to offer.
Dr. Daniela Cavallero, founder and President, is originally from the Piemonte region of Italy. She graduated from the University of Pavia with an Italian Doctorate in English and German and is currently a professor at DePaul University.
Marco has been teaching Italian for the past 25 years, including 15 years at Sentieri Italiani. Marco holds an undergraduate degree in International Studies and Modern Languages from Knox College and an MBA from Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management. His passion for the Italian language and culture, as well as his many years of classroom experience, translate into an effective, yet light and fun, approach to learning the language of Dante.
Maria Teresa is a native of Pianello Val Tidone (Piacenza), a small village in Northern Italy. She has been living and working in Chicago as an Italian and Linguistics instructor for the past 16 years. She holds a master's in Pedagogy of Italian as a second and foreign language from the University of Ca' Foscari (Venezia), a master's in Linguistics from Northeastern Illinois University and a PhD in Linguistics from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, with a focus on bilingualism, second language acquisition and heritage language studies. Maria Teresa loves swimming and eating gelato while watching horror movies.
Patrizia has been teaching Italian in the U.S. for the past 20 years. She has taught all levels of Italian at several colleges and institutions in California - among them the Italian Cultural Institute in Los Angeles, El Camino College, California State University Long Beach and Pepperdine University. In Italy, Patrizia studied at the Catholic University in Milan, where she received her degree in Special Education. In the U.S., she studied at the University of California Los Angeles, where she received her bachelor's degree and master's in Italian. She recently joined Sentieri, where she would like to share her passion for her native language and culture with her colleagues and students.
Stefania Belli is the director of an institute for Italian language and culture, La Lingua La Vita. Ms. Belli is a graduate of Language and Foreign Literature of the IULM University of Milan. She founded La Lingua La Vita more than 30 years ago, spurred by a love and passion for languages as an expression of a people, their traditions and history, and ultimately, as treasures that recount the evolution of society and the adventures of individuals. In addition to teaching and creating courses and cultural programs for La Lingua La Vita, she has taught in the U.S. at Penn State University, La Scuola Italiana in New York City and La Lingua La Vita in Long Beach, California.