BAIAblog

Rossella Florio, the new Marketing and Communications Intern

Dear BAIA community,
I am very excited to be the new intern for marketing and communications for BAIA San Francisco. I would like to thank all the Board Members for this amazing opportunity - I am thrilled and inspired to be working with the large and growing Italian professional community in the Bay Area. I am especially happy because this experience is giving me a chance to practice what I learned in my studies.
I earned my masters degree in communication with an emphasis on mass media. My strong passion for this major led me to different professional experiences. While at University, I was chief editor of my faculty newspaper for two years, during which I wrote editorials related to campus life and students issues. I was responsible for assigning stories to other writers on the newspaper. I also worked as Media Campaign Manager for a small advertising agency. My responsibilities included interfacing with clients and helping to plan and execute their particular marketing strategy.
Though I loved my experiences in this field at home, I felt my small town couldn’t contain my ambition and curiosity to explore what was out there. So two years ago I decided to take a break and go abroad for a year to study and improve my English. While I was studying English I also had the chance to work in Sales for a Travel Agency: it was a really important experience for me as it was my first job abroad. I developed the ability to establish priorities while working efficiently in a high-pressure environment with demanding clients.
Two years later I am still here, sharpening my skills and looking forward to accomplishing my goals.
I hope to contribute to the effort to update the content on the BAIA website, bringing a fresh perspective to our readers, while continuing to inform and support the community. I welcome your feedback and ideas with the hope of growing our network and reaching out to new members.

Rossella Florio

For any further information and or suggestions please feel free to contact me at rflorio@baia-network.org or visit my profile on LinkledIn.

Introductory Remarks from the New BAIA Executive Director Elisabetta Ghisini

Dear BAIA community,
I am excited to serve as the new Executive Director for BAIA - it is both an honor and a challenge for me.
When I moved to the Bay area 15 years ago, BAIA did not exist. Even back then, I felt the need for some type of professional networking among Italian expats. BAIA filled that void by offering high-caliber events open to the entire Italian-American community. I remember attending one of the first events, eager to meet other Italian professionals who I didn't yet know, but who I was sure I shared some common background with. It is a real privilege for me to be able to shape, at least in part, the agenda of an organization I know has proven to be extremely helpful to many of us.
So why is it a challenge? Because BAIA has already done a spectacular job in creating a place where we can all exchange information and knowledge, and it’s going to be hard to live up to the past successes. In fact, I would like to thank Matteo Fabiano for his outstanding leadership over the past couple of years: BAIA has grown a lot under his watch and we are all very grateful to Matteo for transforming it into a more professional organization.
At this point, I have two simple priorities:

1. Continuing to host great events that bring the community together. Content-based events will be a priority for us. If you have any ideas or suggestion please, let us know at info@baia-network.org.
2. Focusing on member benefits. Delivering clear value to our individual and corporate member is also going to be of paramount importance. You can expect more members-only privileges (e.g., access to proprietary databases) that will make your decision about joining BAIA a very straightforward decision!

It’s a pretty simple plan, because the truth is that I would rather shape a fuller plan based on your input. You can expect to hear from me and from other governance board members to gather your ideas and enlist your help.
I am fully convinced that the strength of an organization like BAIA lies in its members and in their involvement. What I always liked most about BAIA is that it’s an open organization, an organization that welcomes the contribution of all its members.
My vision for BAIA is that of an ever-growing yet tightly-knit community that leverages the “ethnic network” for business advantage. Let’s face it: the Bay Area is built on ethnic networks of expats who help each other professionally – and we can do the same. As the Italian American professional base in the Bay Area is growing, so is BAIA. Along with growth comes opportunity – let’s take this growth as an opportunity.

Elisabetta Ghisini