Zachary Nowak has worked for The Umbra Institute since 2005. Nowak received his PhD from Harvard University in 2018 and is a food and environmental historian with an interest in how place and taste go together (or don’t). He has written about the history of pizzerias in Naples, Chianti in California, unsalted bread in Perugia, polenta in Italy, terroir nowhere, and truffles all over the world.

Director

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Laura is a one of the Co-Coordinators (along with Jacopo Bernardini) for Umbra programs. A native of nearby Assisi, Laura joined the Umbra Institute in 2013 after completing her Laurea in Interpretating and Translation from the University of Perugia and having studied abroad at the University of Leeds (UK). She visits the US regularly, particularly to Boston where part of her family resides.

Associate Director
Administrative and Fiscal Affairs

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Jacopo Bernardini is one of the Umbra Program Co-Coordinators (along with Laura Fronduti). Jacopo worked for six years as a Postdoctoral Researcher of Sociology and Methodology of Social Research at the Faculty of Political Science of the University of Perugia before joining the Umbra team in 2018.

He has published several academic articles and books on Age and Life Cycle, Transition to Adulthood, Generational Conflicts, and the Information Age.

Always ready to lend a helping hand, or contribute to the latest video project, Jacopo is a jack-of-all-trades dedicated to developing quality study abroad programming in and out of the classroom.

Associate Director
Program Management & Institutional Development

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Clelia Viecelli is the faculty coordinator for Umbra’s Food, Sustainability and Environment program. She is a social anthropologist with an interest in wine, food, gender, and human – nonhuman relationships. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Southampton (UK) where she conducted ethnographic fieldwork among female natural winegrowers in Italy. Viecelli has published on the globalization of wine through an anthropological perspective. She is also an accredited wine taster.

FSE Program Faculty Coordinator

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Alessandro Varazi is the Housing Coordinator at the Umbra Institute, where he has been working since 2017. Alessandro is a professional real estate agent, Perugia native, he graduated from the Liceo classico, and studied philosphy at The Università degli Studi di Perugia. Having been an athlete for many years, in his free time he is a Judo teacher.

Alessandro is always available to assist the students with their apartments and daily life to ensure students have a safe and rewarding study abroad experience. 

Coordinator for Student Housing

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Manuel Barbato has been working since 2018 at the Umbra Institute, where he serves as an Assistant for the Food & Sustainability Studies Program. In addition to working with Umbra faculty and staff, he is involved in the management and development of all of the Institute’s projects run in cooperation with the Perugian community.

Student Services & Community Engagement

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Stefano Console has been working at Umbra since 2018. His main duties include Student Services, Social Media, and the coordination of the Umbra Reps Program. He has lived and worked abroad (Belgium, Republic of Korea, Germany) for nine years, and gained experience in international institutions and NGOs. He is a certified sommelier since 2016.

Registrar, Student Services & Social Media Communications

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Arianna was born and raised in Assisi, a small but well-known town (home to St. Francis) located just a few kilometers from Perugia. She received her B.A. in Translation Studies from the University of Perugia, and has always been passionate about foreign languages, cultures, nature and hiking. She has been at the Umbra Institute since 2017. 

Student Services Advisor & Activities Coordinator

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My name is Eleonora Branchesi, Student Services Assistant. I started working at Umbra in the fall of 2019. I studied TISL (Teaching Italian as a Second Language) at the Università per Stranieri di Perugia and am currently pursuing a Master’s Degree in Foreign Languages at the University of Perugia, Department of English Linguistics and Literature. I studied abroad in Tübingen (Germany) and Seattle.

Student Services Advisor

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Alexandra started working at Umbra in the spring of 2022 as a Student Services Assistant. She has studied Cultural Heritage at the University of Perugia and later in 2022 she has also graduated in Linguistic Mediation at SSML in Perugia, with a major in Translation and Interpretation. Some of her passions include singing, reading, gaming and occasionally visiting abandoned places around Italy.

Student Services Advisor & Housing Assistant

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Debora started working at Umbra in March 2022. She graduated in Political Science (BA) and then received her master’s degree in International Affairs at the University of Bologna. During university, she studied in the UK and worked in an Italian Diplomatic Mission in Croatia. Since she likes concerts and everything fun, in Perugia she volunteers to organize cultural and entertainment events. She is very passionate about social justice, cultural studies, and Ariana Grande.

Student Services Advisor

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Matilde started working at Umbra in May 2022. She graduated in Foreign Languages (BA) at the University of Perugia. Apart from being fascinated by linguistics (in particular, Second Language Acquisition), she is keen on getting familiar with other cultures, which is what led her to reside abroad in multiple occasions (USA, UK, Portugal). Traveling is, of course, one of her main passions, as well as sports, cinema, and music.

Student Services Advisor

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US Office
Director of University Relations & Enrollment Management

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Gianna is the Enrollment Management and Institutional Relations Assistant in the ISI Abroad US Office. She is a graduate of The Pennsylvania State University with degrees in Global & International Studies and Spanish. She is native to the Philadelphia area and loves dogs, Penn State football and food festivals!

US Office Staff
Enrollment Management & University Relations

US Office Staff
Custom Programs and Marketing