Umbra Faculty
2023-24 Academic Year
Giampiero Bevagna, Laurea
Università degli Studi di Perugia
Specialization in Archaeological Research, University of Rome III
Specialization in General and Museum Pedagogy and Didactics, University of Rome III
Visiting lecturer for Classics and Italian, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Haven
Archaeological Work Experience since 1989
Courses taught at Umbra:
Archaeological Discoveries: A Passion for Classical Antiquity
Archaeology in Central Italy: The Etruscan and Roman Heritage
Archaeological Field Workshop
Roman Civilization and Daily Life
The Roman Empire – Baths, Wine & Sex
Giampiero says that he loves teaching, simply being in class and having discussions with the students. It’s exciting when one can have a challenging exchange of opinions with other people, especially when this happens with people from different countries. For Giampiero, learning is not just a matter of memorizing pieces of information, but it’s making the information part of you, which is what he tries to instill in his students. Learning and teaching subjects like Latin and classical studies makes people and the world more pleasant.
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Giulia Brufani, ABD
Università degli Studi di Perugia
Courses taught at Umbra:
The Science of Italian Food
Giulia Brufani is currently a Ph.D. Candidate in Chemistry at the University of Perugia and Professor of The Science of Italian Food at the Umbra Institute of Perugia. During her doctoral studies, she has been a visiting Ph.D. student at McGill University in Montreal, working with the C.-J. Li research group. She obtained her master’s degree in Chemical Science in 2020 from the University of Perugia. In 2019, she was selected as one of the top 100 talented students in Europe to attend “ROCHE CONTINENTS 2019” in Salzburg (Austria).
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Jacopo Cossater, Laurea
Università degli Studi di Perugia
Courses taught at Umbra:
Digital Marketing: Wine and Wineries of Central Italy
Communicating Taste – Social Media and Journalism of Food & Wine
Jacopo Cossater began to take an interest in the world of wine at the turn of the millennium. After his studies in Marketing & Communication, he completed a training course at the Italian Sommelier Association and in 2007 he opened his first blog which for many years has been one of the most popular in Italy. Over time he has collaborated with Dissapore, the Australian Alquimie, Enogea, Slow Food Editore, Cook_Inc., Grande Cucina and Giunti Editore’s Piattoforte, as well as with the wine guide “I Vini d’Italia” published by l’Espresso. Since 2009 he has written for Intravino, the most important Italian online wine magazine, of which he is now Senior Editor. In 2016, he was co-author of Vino Sommelier, a volume exploring various approaches to wine published by White Star/De Agostini and translated into English, French, German and Chinese. After navigating the world of communication for 10 years, a journey which led him to collaborate with countless companies operating in the world of tourism and food and wine, in 2017 he received an IED master’s degree in International Wine Marketing in Florence. Also in 2017, he became a jury member for the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles, in Beijing. His podcast, Vino sul Divano, has been one of the most popular podcasts on Italian wine since 2018. In 2021, he produced La Retroetichetta, the first Italian podcast about wine marketing.
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Elena Cavicchi, MA
Università degli Studi di Perugia
Courses taught at Umbra:
Living Perugia – Elementary Language, Culture, and Reflection
Experiencing Perugia – Intermediate Language, Culture, and Reflection
Teresa Cutler-Broyles, MA
University of New Mexico
Courses taught at Umbra:
Writing Italian Food
Teresa Cutler-Broyles has an MA in Cultural Theory and an MA certification in Architectural Historical Preservation. She teaches film analysis and cultural theory at the University of New Mexico, Architecture in Film and Introduction to Film Studies. She spends her summers teaching at the Umbra Institute in Perugia, Italy focusing on the interplay of Italian history, identity, culture and food, with an occasional foray into the history of Italian gardens.
John Dennis, Ph.D.
Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology, University of Texas
M.A. in Developmental and Communication Psychology, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore
B.A. in Economics, University of Colorado
B.A. in Psychology, minor in Philosophy, University of Colorado
Courses taught at Umbra:
Experiencing Multicultural Psychology
Organizational Behavior: An Evidence-Based Approach
Psychology Research: From Idea to Discovery
Positive Psychology: The Science of Behavioral Change
Strong background in art, evolution, cognitive science, language and culture, culture and cognition, research methods in psychology, general psychology, cognitive psychology, and scientific communication in psychology. Within the study abroad environment, John Dennis’ desire is to give students an understanding of how theories, models, and research can relate to their study abroad experience by demonstrating that the human motivation system is informed and transformed by one’s culture.
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Christopher Fink, PhD
Beloit College
Courses taught at Umbra:
Food, Community, and The Mediterranean Diet in Italy
Professor Fink teaches courses in creative writing, literature, environmental journalism and nature writing at Beloit College. He is also editor of the Beloit Fiction Journal. He spends her summers teaching at the Umbra Institute in Perugia
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Luca Gatti, ABD
University of Barcelona
Courses taught at Umbra:
Living Perugia – Elementary Language, Culture, and Reflection
Attualità e Cultura Italiana
Jennifer Griffiths, PhD
Bryn Mawr College
Courses taught at Umbra:
Saints and Sinners: Medieval Women in Central Italy
Art in and for a New World: Sustainability, Consciousness, and Ethics
The Italian Renaissance: Art, Invention, and Culture
Jennifer Griffiths has a PhD in the History of Art from Bryn Mawr College. She is interested in trans historical issues relating to gender and sexuality in European visual culture from the early modern to the contemporary period. Her first monograph, Marisa Mori and the Futurists: A Woman Artist in an Age of Fascism, is forthcoming with Bloomsbury. In the classroom, she is committed to helping students think critically about how the language of images cuts across geographies, histories, and cultures, emphasizing storytelling and shared human experience.
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Gabriella Klein, PhD
Università degli Studi di Perugia
Courses taught at Umbra:
Intercultural Communication
Currently teaching Intercultural Communication at the Umbra Institute, Perugia/Italy. Former Associate Professor in Linguistics (L-LIN/01) teaching Sociolinguistics; Dynamics in Social Communication; General Linguistics, Pragmalinguistics – University of Perugia.
Active participation in Conferences, Seminars, Training Courses and as Visiting Professor in: Belgium, Benin, Bulgaria, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Macedonia, Malta, Montenegro, The Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Togo, Turkey, United Kingdom.
Longstanding experience as adult education trainer in the field of interpersonal and intercultural communication within work settings of private and public companies.
Was departmental coordinator of Erasmus exchanges for students and staff. Longstanding experience in collaborating and coordinating EU co-funded projects
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Neto Leão, PhD
Penn State University
Courses taught at Umbra:
Green Cities: A Sustainable Future
Sustainable Food Production in Italy – Local Traditions and Global Transformations
Neto Leao pursued his doctorate in Environment and Society at the State University of Campinas. He has been conducting research at Penn State University since 2019. His areas of interest include political ecology, environmental sociology and the radical critique of industrialization. He worked with the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean in the Division of Social Development. He is co-founder of the Thinking After Ivan Illich project.
Maximiliano Lorenzi, PhD
University of Florence
Courses taught at Umbra:
History and Politics of the European Union
Maximiliano Lorenzi has taught at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland, and for several American study abroad programs in Florence, including AEF-Elon, CEA-New Haven University, California State University and Richmond University.
Maximiliano received his Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Florence (Italy), his M.A. in European Studies from the University of Siena (Italy), and his undergraduate degree in Political Science and International Relations from the University of Padova (Italy). He has been a visiting fellow at the European Centre for Public Affairs in Brussels and has worked as an intern for an Italian MEP at the European Parliament.
He has presented at many conferences in Italy and abroad, and published articles on commercial lobbyists. His research and teaching interests include interest representation and lobbying at the European Union level, public affairs consultancy, non-state actors in global politics, the relationship between business and government, and the quality of democracy.
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Juan Maillo, MA, MFT
Universidad de Granada (Spain)
Courses taught at Umbra:
PSYC 315 – Pathways to Wellness (Psychopathology)
Juan is an expat from Spain and the United States who recently relocated to Italy. He earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Education Sciences from the Universidad de Granada (Spain) and a Master’s in Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT) with a focus on humanistic, transpersonal psychology, and diversity.
Currently, he serves as a bilingual licensed psychotherapist and psychology professor, displaying a keen interest in food, culture, and languages. He fondly reminisces about his motorcycle and the dark chocolate peanut butter cups from Trader Joe’s.
Livia Matarazzo, MA
Università per Stranieri di Perugia
Courses taught at Umbra:
Living Perugia – Elementary Language, Culture, and Reflection
Perugia and Beyond – Advanced Grammar, Conversation and Cultural Reflection
Melanie McCallum, MBChB
Aberdeen University
Glasgow University
Courses taught at Umbra:
Critical Disabilities Studies
Critical Disabilities Studies: Seminar and Practicum
Criminal Behavior
Pathways to Wellness: Exploring Mental Health, Diagnosis, and Clinical Interventions (Psychopathology)
Dr. McCallum has been a Board-Certified Practicing Doctor for 31 years and continues to practice clinically.
With a medical career which that has spanned more than 3 decades she has qualified as a family physician, addiction psychiatrist, disability specialist and continues to work for the UK Government as a medico-legal adviser for criminal injuries.
Whilst enjoying working directly with individual patients, Dr McCallum has always recognized the importance of aiming to improve population health on a larger scale. She studied public health at Glasgow University and is an International public health practitioner. She is passionate about making an impact, effecting the future from a healthcare perspective and making the world healthier for subsequent generations, using evidence-based approaches.
Dr. McCallum considers education as a vital tool for improving health and wellbeing and has taught in a wide range of situations, ranging from teaching medical students at Glasgow University on how to improve their communication skills and to educating junior psychiatrists how best to treat on how they can best treat PTSD and providing guidance to judges on how best to work with trauma survivors and victims of crime.
She is a careers adviser for school age children and a volunteer for the red cross.
A particular favorite teaching highlight was developing and opening a teaching kitchen in an area of high deprivation as part of a public health partnership and teaching people of all ages how to cook properly from scratch, with locally grown produce.
Dr. McCallum believes good communication is essential to any learning process and prides herself in her skills which have been developed over many years of sharing and exchanging with her patients. She thoroughly agrees with Albert Einstein’s philosophy that:
“Most of the fundamental ideas of science are essentially simple, and may, as a rule, be expressed in a language comprehensible to everyone.”
Zachary Nowak, PhD
Harvard University
Courses taught at Umbra:
The History and Culture of Food in Italy
The Politics of Urban Agriculture – From Victory Gardens to Neoliberalism
Dr. Zachary Nowak is the director of The Umbra Institute and a lecturer for the Harvard University Extension School. He received his Ph.D. from Harvard University in 2018 and is a historian and historical geographer 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.
Natascia Petringa , PHD
University of Ottawa (Canada)
Courses taught at Umbra:
Education in Italy
Natascia Petringa has been a Middle and High School Science teacher for over 25 years. She has a PhD in Education from the University of Ottawa (Canada) and a M. Ed from Harvard University (USA). Originally from Rome, Natascia has lived in many countries and speaks several languages. With over two decades of teaching experience in international schools, Natascia is especially interested in multicultural and intercultural education. More specifically, her research interests are on “best teaching practices” to scaffold for non-native English speakers. Natascia loves dogs, hiking, volunteering, and eating good food.
Filippo M. Sposini, PhD
University of Toronto
Courses taught at Umbra:
Human Development in Culture
Publishing professional with a background in research, health policy, higher education, and strategic development. Track record of effective collaboration with high-profile stakeholders, including scholars, medical professionals, funding agencies, libraries, public, and private organizations. Experience in analyzing and interpreting quantitative and qualitative data as well as in identifying opportunities for growth. Collaborations with institutional and corporate environments based in Europe and North America. Expertise in public outreach and communication initiatives.
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Philippa Stannard, M.F.A., ATR
M.F.A. in Photography, Video, and Installation Art, Florida State University
A.T.R. (Registered Art Therapist)
B.A. in Ceramics and Photography, Stetson University
Courses taught at Umbra:
Art Therapy
Ceramics: Traditions in Umbria and Central Italy
Photography: Portfolio of Perugia
The photographs of Philippa Stannard have been published and exhibited in Europe, the United States, and China. Recent awards include First Place in the Street Photography and Cityscapes category in the 7th Edition of the Julia Margaret Cameron Award for Women Photographers, the Jurors Choice Award at the PH21 Gallery in Budapest, Hungary, and the Photobook Award at the Davis Orton Gallery in Hudson, New York. Publications include f-stop magazine and Feature Shoot, as well as a self-published book La Dolce Vista, in collaboration with her friend and former photography professor, Betty Press.
Philippa loves experiencing new cultures and traveling off the beaten path. Her journeys include traveling solo in China where she lived with nomads and experienced the open-hearted hospitality of complete strangers. Philippa is also an accomplished cook and certified sommelier. She completed her studies at the Pro-Civitate Christiana in art therapy and is a Registered Art Therapist (ATR) in Italy.
Teaching Philosophy: Philippa believes that teaching is a two-way street: her goal is to encourage a hands-on, open learning environment, with dialogue and discussion. She always tells her students, “It’s my job to teach you to the best of my ability; it’s your job to tell me if there is something you don’t understand.”
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Clelia Viecelli, PhD
University of Southampton
Courses taught at Umbra:
Anthropology of Food and Eating: Understanding Self and Others
The History and Culture of Food in Italy
Clelia Viecelli has obtained her PhD at the University of Southampton (UK). Her PhD thesis is an anthropological account of female winegrowers producing natural wines in Italy. She also holds a BA (Hons) in Ethno-Anthropological Disciplines from the Università degli Studi di Siena (Italy) and a MSc in Social Anthropology from the London School of Economics (LSE). Her research interests cover food and wine culture with a focus on gender and terroir, alternative food networks and food activism, emerging alternative aesthetics of taste and sensory ethnography. She also served as co-coordinator and moderator of the research group Debating Ethnography based at the University of Southampton (UK), which fosters academic initiatives and debates around the multidisciplinary application of ethnographic methods to academic research. She is a member of the EASA Anthropology of Food Network and the Wine Studies Research Network. She is also an accredited wine taster and organizes public lectures and guided wine-tastings on Italian natural wines.
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Alessandro Zaccaro, PP
Professional Photographer & Food Blogger
(fancyfactory.it)
Courses taught at Umbra:
Social Media, Social Food
Alessandro Zaccaro is a highly-respected and in-demand food photography and content creator based in Foligno (Umbria – IT) with his luggage always ready to travel everywhere. On his trips and during his shootings, he is constantly looking for new inspirations to transform into emotions with photos, videos and creative content.
He works with media agencies, luxury hotels, top Italian food companies and tourism boards for social-media marketing campaigns, creating projects and media contents. He has taught courses on photography and social media in several Italian schools. Visit his Instagram page to see a sample of his amazing photographic art.
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