Rome, Italy

Our experienced and friendly on-site staff is dedicated to doing everything they can to make your studies experience as educational, comfortable and fun as it can be. Their backgrounds may be diverse, but their goals are uniform: working tirelessly for the good of the St. John's student body.

Massimiliano Tomassini
Assistant Vice President, Europe Programs

Massimiliano is one of the longest tenured members of the St. John’s Global Studies team, having worked for the university in various capacities for over 18 years. Born in Rome, he’s also lived in Romania, Egypt, Ivory Coast and Australia before returning to his home city to join the St. John’s Rome Campus staff in 1997. In his current role of Assistant Vice President of Europe Programs, Max is responsible for overseeing operations of all St. John’s programs in Europe, including the Rome and Paris campuses and other European locations.

In reflecting on what he enjoys most about working for St. John’s, Max focuses on the university’s Vincentian mission, which he keeps in mind daily as he carries out his duties. “My job gives me the opportunity to favorably impact students’ lives,” he explains. “Helping students move forward with their education, giving them the chance to experience new places and cultures, giving them an opportunity that they couldn’t otherwise afford, these are the ways that we can live out the Vincentian mission through Global Studies.”

Max especially enjoys welcoming newcomers to his hometown, a place that he says is epitomized in the warmth and friendliness of its people and the enjoyment of life. To first-time travelers, he recommends keeping an open mind and being ready to experience differences in culture at their best and their worst. “Avoid judging based on your own background,” he says. “Try to step away from your normal mindset. The best part about traveling is growing to understand how many different cultures there are out there, and just how different we all are!”

Margherita Panzera
Assistant Dean, St. John's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, St. John’s Rome Campus

Margherita has been working for St. John’s University since 2007. She comes from a multi-national background, having been born in Montreal, Canada to Italian parents, and subsequently lived in Florida for ten years. Maggie received her Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Miami. She later completed the Master of Arts in Government and Politics at the St. John’s Rome campus. Prior to working for SJU, Maggie worked in various industries – including as a tour director in Europe, as an account manager in Canada and interned with the UN and U.S. State Department.

As Assistant Dean, Maggie manages the daily operations of the MA in Government and Politics program in Rome, and serves as the primary liaison with our Queens campus. Her responsibilities include curriculum advising, academic policies, registration, graduation, and overseeing new student orientations. She maintains relationships with Rome’s international community and Rome campus alumni to organize extracurricular lectures and events, and provide internship opportunities for her graduate students. Additionally, she provides support to local faculty, and works with the Global Development and Social Justice program. She also works closely with her Queens colleagues in enrollment management, recruitment, and assists interested applicants and newly accepted students.

Having been through the program herself, Maggie understands what her students go through from the moment they are accepted to when they walk across the stage at graduation. She feels blessed to have the opportunity to make a positive impact on students’ lives, during this pivotal time in their academic careers. For many, this Master’s provides a major stepping stone into the working world. Through internships with UN agencies and international organizations in the city, many students start successful international careers while they are completing their graduate studies.

Elisa Bracalente
Director of Rome Programs

Elisa joined the Rome Campus team in January 2016. A native of Rome, Elisa has over ten years of experience in higher education and international study abroad programs. She has studied, lived, and worked abroad for several years.

In her current role as Assistant Director, Elisa is responsible for overseeing all residence life, student services, academics, and logistics for the undergraduate study abroad programs in Rome. She works closely with the Rome team and Faculty to create an academically and culturally integrated study abroad program with special attention to activities that relate to course material, experiential learning, and encouraging student engagement within the local community.

Elisa graduated cum laude in Foreign Languages and Literatures from the University of Rome ‘Tor Vergata’. She spent a year in Ireland as an Erasmus undergraduate student, which she considers a life-changing experience that deepened her appreciation and understanding of other cultures as well as her passion for travelling. In 2008, Elisa moved to Australia, where she lived for four years, earning a PhD in English and Comparative Literature from Murdoch University, Western Australia, and worked with international students from different ethnic and linguistic backgrounds.

Prior to joining the St. John’s team, Elisa worked for CEA Study Abroad and Joseph S. Bruno Auburn Abroad in Italy Program.

Elisa is aware of the positive impact study abroad has on students’ perceptions of the world. She is enthusiastic about being a part of this crucial moment in their lives and careers and being able to contribute to students' personal growth. Elisa believes that becoming familiar with different cultures broadens students’ understanding of their place in the world and opens up new opportunities for them in the future. She loves participating in events and spending time with students.

To students visiting Rome, Elisa recommends to “absorb Italy” as much as possible, to go beyond the tourist experience and discover the ‘real’ Italian culture, and to view their surroundings through the eyes of a local. Students are encouraged to explore Rome — “Wander around the city center and surely you will discover a beautiful piazza or a fountain you had never seen before!”

Rebekah Sagredo
Residence Director, St. John's Rome Campus

Rebekah is a graduate of Dartmouth College (2008) and “Sapienza Università di Roma” (2012) where she studied Linguistics, Italian, and Translation. Rebekah’s love for Italy, the Italian language, food, and culture comes from her own study abroad experience in Rome in 2005. Rebekah moved to Rome in 2009 and has worked with various study abroad programs and Italian language schools during that time.

As the Residence Director, Rebekah is responsible to coordinate all check-in and check-out procedures for students living in the residence and responds to any questions, concerns, or emergencies regarding their stay on campus. She hires and supervises the Residence Assistants who are the first line of support for the students.

During her free time, Rebekah takes walks around the city, meets friends for dinner at local pizzerias, and goes to the gym. On Sunday, her favorite activity is pranzo domenicale, Sunday lunch, with the family that hosted her during her study abroad in 2005.
If Rebekah could give new study abroad students once piece of advice, it would be to be adventurous while studying abroad. Try new foods, test your Italian skills with locals, visit restaurants, museums, and towns that are off the beaten path.

Cristina Cavalieri
Coordinator of Student Life and Social Media Manager, St. John's Rome Campus

Cristina is the Coordinator for Student Life and Social Media Manager at St. John’s University Rome Campus. Cristina is bilingual and bi-cultural. She was born in the region of Piedmont, Italy and subsequently lived in the Chicago area from the age of nine to twenty.Cristina received her Bachelor’s degree from Loyola University Chicago in International Studies, Italian Language and Literature, and a minor in Rome Studies and her Master’s in Business Administration from St. John’s University. She has been working in American universities in Rome for almost ten years.

Her responsibilities are to provide support to all students participating in the St. John's study abroad programs based in Rome and work to ensure the health, safety and general welfare of all students along with organizing and planning community building events. Cristina is fond of planning and supervising events and study trips in Italy and abroad. Additionally, she has create value for the university via interactive design, marketing, and social media connections with the students. The SJURome.com website she crafted and designed, and continues to manage and maintain, provides students unlimited access to all Rome Campus information and events.

When asked to reflect upon what she enjoys most about working with students Cristina explains, “the best part of my job is to be able to see students grow and flourish during their time in Rome because of their experiences living in a rich culture full of architecture, art, culinary traditions, and much more.”

Cristina is passionate about facilitating deep immersion experiences for students through the organization of multiple programming initiatives. Through these immersion experiences, Cristina helps students learn about local practices and use their Italian language skills.

She loves giving advice and recommendations regarding what students must see, accomplish, and eat in Rome and Italy in general. When asked what her favorite thing in Rome is, Cristina replied, “there are so many things, but one of my personal favorites is turning a corner and finding yourself in front of some beautiful monument or church, such as the Trevi Fountain or the Basilica Santi Giovanni e Paolo.”

Shelby Elkins
Coordinator of Academics & Program Development, St. John's Rome Campus

Shelby serves at the Coordinator of Academics and Program Development at St. John’s University Rome Campus. In this role, Shelby is responsible for coordinating the short-term programs in Rome. He works closely with both the faculty and students to ensure that everybody has the opportunity to make the most of their time in Rome. He also manages several special projects such as faculty services, internships, student conduct, among other tasks. Shelby comes to St. John’s University with many years of experience, working in both the private and public sectors of education in the USA and Italy. He was born and raised in the State of Tennessee in the USA, and subsequently has lived in Chicago, Boston, and New Haven. Shelby received his Bachelor’s degree from The University of Memphis in Business Management, and his Master’s degree in Higher Education from Loyola University Chicago. Shelby has plenty of experience working with international higher education, and also studied abroad in Cuba as an undergraduate student.

If asked what he enjoys the most about working in his current role, Shelby says, “Welcoming so many students, faculty, and staff that are generally here for short periods of time allows me to truly influence and create a positive impact on their time here in Rome. Rome is my home, so it is an important part of my personal life also that I can share with the St. John’s University community.”

Shelby enjoys the logistical, but also practitioner focused portions of his job. His research interests include residence hall councils, student development, international experiences, and more. He has participated in various research, grant-writing, and international community teams that have allowed him to continue his focus on program development as a student affairs practitioner.

If he had to choose his favorite things in Rome, he could easily create a list. “Sit under the columns of the Pantheon once the sun has set, go under the Trevi Fountain to see the water cisterns, and go to the top of the Altare della Patria to see all of Rome in one view. Don’t leave Rome without eating a decent portion of cacio e pepe pasta!”

Paolo Bartolini
Director of Business Affairs, Europe

As Director of Business Affairs, Paolo oversees the financial and administrative operations of the SJU European campuses. In particular, he oversees the budgeting process, financial planning, day-to-day finance activities, human resource administrative and payroll process, and legal functions. He coordinates across the various staff in New York and local professional services providers. During his tenure at SJU Paolo worked in both the Queens campus and the Rome campus where he oversaw IT, facility management, program development and other core campus operations. 

Before joining St. John’s University, Paolo worked at PriceWatherhouseCoopers as a Senior Auditor. Paolo has been an adjunct faculty member of both St. John’s University and John Cabot University in Rome, where he taught financial and managerial accounting. 

He holds a PhD in Literacy Education, and an MBA from St John’s University, a BA in Business & Economics from University of Rome La Sapienza. As an academic researcher and long-term administrator of study abroad programs, Paolo values study abroad “as this experience represents a key component of any academic program that seeks to create global citizens willing to manage the complexities of a globalized world”.

In his current role of Director of Operations and Information Technology for St. John’s University European Programs, Claudio is in charge of, and oversees, many aspects of the European programs; including Information Technology (from systems design to data security to user support), Facilities (Design and Management), Safety, Security, HR processes and procedure, and in general Organization Process Design, Legal Compliance, and several others. 
A firm believer in the enabling role of technology - in life, and in Academics in particular - Claudio works to insure the European operations are lean, efficient, and effective.     

Claudio is Adjunct Professor of Operations Management in several American programs in Italy. At St. John’s University, Claudio has been Adjunct Professor of Operations Management and Business Information Technology for the Tobin Business School MBA program, for over ten years. 

Claudio joined St. John’s University in January 1999, where he worked in various capacities; over the years, Claudio has also been in charge of Finance, Business Affairs, Financial Aid, Library Services, among others. This allowed Claudio to acquire a deep, extensive, and all-around understanding of the organization.

Since 2006, Claudio travelled across Europe to help locate and evaluate sites to expand SJU European programs, and played a seminal role in the future expansion of SJU in Europe. Claudio was then instrumental in the design and establishment of current Rome and Paris Campuses, and other SJU programs in Salamanca and Seville, Spain. 

Claudio earned degrees in Italy and in the United States, and he is very familiar with both the Italian and the American cultures, which he considers equally his own. 

In reflecting on what he enjoys most about working for St. John’s, Claudio underlines how rewarding it has been to actively contribute to the creation of a high-quality higher education environment, where the American and the European cultures merge. “We all are, indeed, citizens of the world; helping students interiorize such fundamental truth is deeply rewarding, on both a personal and a professional level. It has been a privilege, so far, to work at the establishment and the success of one of the most remarkable American programs in Europe, since its very inception, and in so many ways; and it is equally rewarding to operate, on a daily basis, to insure the program, and - most importantly - our students’ success.” 

Andrea Notarnicola
Coordinator of Operations and Information Technology, St. John's Rome Campus

Andrea joined the St. John’s Rome Campus staff in 2009. Before that, he lived in Bolivia for 6 years with his family and traveled around South America.  As Coordinator of Information Technology and Operations, Andrea handles the IT front office aspect of the Rome and Paris campuses.

Andrea provides IT assistance on many tech aspects ranging from classroom equipment to campus computer maintenance and student IT needs. He also manages the campus ID card and security access system.

When assisting students with their IT problems, while chatting he will also give out advices on places to visit and food to try while in Rome or Italy in general.

Mauro Sciarra 
Coordinator of Facility Management, St. John’s Rome Campus

Mauro joined St. John’s University Rome Campus staff in January 2015, as Coordinator of Building Maintenance. 

His first goal to is insure comfort and safety for students and all building occupants, by performing effective and efficient maintenance, both ordinary and preventive. Mauro supervises and coordinates external service providers and suppliers, and he also offers direct support to building occupants when needed. Mauro knows the building inside-out, and he is the go-to person if you need help with the facility.

Before joining Rome Campus, Mauro has worked in construction for several years and in several different capacities. An expert CAD designer, while working for companies based in L’Aquila, his hometown, Mauro contributed to the building of several facilities worldwide, such as the University Hospital Baloguat in Laghouat, Algiers, “Il Caravaggio International Airport” in Orio al Serio, buildings in USAF Base in Aviano, NATO bases, and several hospital facilities. 
 
When he has the chance, Mauro likes to suggest students to discover hidden places around Italy, such as the “Giardini di Ninfa” or “Narni Sotterranea”; or, to taste less known and yet typical Italian dishes.