Anna Maria Jaker, curriculum director of the youth language school, instructor of beginner/intermediate A: 3-5 years, bilingual/advanced A: 3-5 years, coordinator of the ora delle fiabe, and mother of two grown bilingual children, holds a medical degree from l' Universita' degli Studi di Bologna and has completed coursework towards a second major in elementary education with a pre-primary specialty at the College of Saint Catherine in St. Paul.

Shirin Ishu Bayati, instructor of the beginner/intermediate B: 6-9 years, and bilingual/advanced B: 6-9 years, is a recently transplanted Venetian native with extensive experience teaching both children and adults. For the current academic year 2012-13 she will be limiting her instruction to the adult classes only, leaving her children level B classes to Carmela Parisi. 

Mirella Heimpel, instructor of the beginner/intermediate C: 10-13 years and D: 14-18 years, bilingual/advanced C: 10-13 years and D: 14-18 years, and mother of three children, holds a degree in Psychology from La Sapienza University of Rome, and is a certified Montessori instructor in the United States. She has taught children in a variety of settings and is eager to share her passion for art, cooking and culture with her students. She also teaches adult classes, and is very actively involved in several important events at our ICC.

Carmela Parisi, instructor of the beginner/intermediate B: 6-9 years, and bilingual/advanced B: 6-9 years, and mother of four children, holds a degree in "Lettere Classiche" from La Sapienza University of Rome, and is a former high school tenure teacher in Italy. Here in the United States she has taught Italian courses at the University of Minnesota and George Washington University D.S., and has conducted special instructional programs for children at the Italian Embassy in Washington D.C. She is also a current instructor in the ICC adult school.