Elisa is a professional Italian instructor from Emilia-Romagna, Italy. She graduated from Bologna University with a degree in Foreign Languages, and has been teaching Italian to international students of all backgrounds and levels for 25 years. Her teaching experience draws from a variety of educational settings both in Italy and the United States, as well as from decades of private tutoring.   

Her previous experience as a translator and ESL instructor in Italy has allowed her to fine-tune her knowledge in the grammatical structure of languages, which she applies to guide her students through the intricacies of both Italian and English. As a Foreign Language student herself, she is well aware of the challenges that students face when learning new languages and cultures, and she is passionate about making anyone’s language journey fun and inspiring with enthusiasm and a positive attitude. 

A former military brat, Erin lived in southern Italy as a teenager and fell in love with the Italian people and food in equal measure. In her professional life, she has worked as a marketing consultant and social media manager, and is a board member of Lide Haiti. She began studying Italian with Elisa several years ago while writing her young adult novel Muse Warrior, a story set in Naples and steeped in Roman mythology. Erin lives in Southern California with her husband, three daughters and various cats and bunnies, but always dreams of her next trip to Florence... or Rome... or Ischia...