The IWF has the following objectives:
- Promote professional networking, resources, and opportunities;
- Support community projects and other philanthropic endeavours;
- Organize meetings with speakers with significant personal experiences;
- Promote guided cultural visits;
- Organize excursions around the city and in the region; and
- Organize meetings for cultural and linguistic exchanges.
The Board members of the IWF are elected by IWF members during the May Monthly meeting in a ‘Assemblea Ordinaria’ and are appointed for a period of 3 years.
The Board meets on a monthly basis (excluding the summer months) to monitor progress on its objectives, make decisions and plan for the future. If you have an issue that you would like discussed at a Board meeting, please email our secretary (details below).
In addition to the elected Board positions there are several Volunteer Leadership roles that are not actual elected board positions but are key in supporting the Board.
For specific enquiries, please email one of our Board members or Volunteer Leadership members whose profiles and details are listed below. We would love to hear from you!
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
PRESIDENT
Antonella Berni
Antonella joined IWF Bologna in 2018, became VP in 2022, working with the Programming Team and focusing on institutional relations. In 2023, she became the 2023 - 2026 IWF Board President. She has lived in Bologna for 20 years and has recently co-founded a publishing house, being her main interests writing and editing. She enjoys nature but also social life, philanthropic activities and wellness.
On the board since 2018
Email: president@iwfbologna.com
VICE PRESIDENT
Nicole van Leenen
Nicole has been living happily in Bologna with husband and daughters since the summer of 2021. She is Dutch and has an international background, growing up in the Middle East, Africa and Europe and working in the Netherlands, Vietnam and the UK. Nicole is a legal consultant who specialises in data protection law. The IWF made her feel very welcome in Bologna and it is her objective to do the same for new and current IWF members, and contribute to the wonderful women’s organisation the IWF is. Being a mum Nicole also co-leads the IWF’s Ciao Ragazzi kids group. She loves to sing, travel, cook, watch movies, listen to Desert Island Discs on BBC4, enjoying the Italian sunshine and spending time with family and friends.
On the board since 2022
Email: vicepresident@iwfbologna.com
SECRETARY
Stephanie Sinclair
Stephanie is a consultant working in artist legacy and private collection Management. She’s worked long-term in both the United States and United Kingdom before moving to Italy in 2018. She works with a select set of international clients and travels often. Stephanie is passionate about philanthropy, supporting women's initiatives, and engaging with her community. She's excited to be part of the IWF board helping empower and support all women in the Bologna community by creating opportunities for learning, growth, and connection. As the IWF Board Secretary, she is the administrative point of the Board, writes the Weekly News Flash, and coordinates the IWF website. In addition, Stephanie heads the IWF Diners Club enjoying good atmosphere, good food, and even better conversation. In her down-time she enjoys over-loving her plants, attending the theatre and symphony, tennis, and most of all spending Sunday mornings in bed reading with her marmalade kitty Hubble.
On the board since 2021
Email: secretary@iwfbologna.com
TREASURER
Alexa Sinel
Alexa moved to Bologna in 1994 and has been a member of the IWF since 2003. She has been both the newsletter editor and the book group leader for the IWF, but this is her first time serving on the Board. She enjoys reading, hiking, crossword puzzles, wine tastings, and travelling within Italy.
On the board since 2024
Email: treasurer@iwfbologna.com
MEMBERSHIP
Sigrid Hulisz
Although originally from the Netherlands, Sigrid has lived the last 19 years in Italy and Asia. She graduated in Law and worked as civil law notary in Amsterdam, before moving to Milan to follow her husband. After several years in Asia (Shanghai and Singapore), they moved to Bologna in 2017, where Sigrid soon started working as a trademark attorney. To meet international like-minded women and help her integrate in the new environment, Sigrid joined the IWF that same year. The next year she joined the board and has been part of the membership team ever since. In her free time she loves travelling, enjoys walking in the Bolognese hills, spending time in the mountains or at the seaside with her family, Pilates and reading books.
On the board since 2018
Email: membership@iwfbologna.com
MEMBERSHIP
Natalia Woldarsky Meneses
Natalia joined the board in 2016 as Secretary. In 2018, she became the group leader of the runners and walkers group, a role
she continues to fill. She served the board as Secretary until September 2019, a year she
juggled a baby and toddler. In 2021 she joined the board again, this time with the
Membership team and as the Interest group
liaison. Her role involves supporting group leaders as well as coordinating and
communicating updates and group news with the social media contact for IWF. Since
2021, she has been working along side other board members, Secretary and Web Support,
to revise and rebuild the Professional Network. At the core of this work is the intention
ensure the Professional Network operates as a system of support and connection for
members and not as another interest group as it has in the past.
On the board since 2021
Email: membership@iwfbologna.com
PROGRAMMING
Lorenza Masetti Shelby
Lorenza moved back to her hometown of Bologna with her family in the summer of 2022 after spending 22 years in the San Francisco Bay Area.
In 2023 she joined the IWF which she describes as a real godsend at a time when she was navigating the challenges of resettling in a city that had changed so much since she left it. Lorenza is a strong believer in the IWF’s spirt of friendship, support, global citizenship, and cultural enrichment, and is thrilled to be a member of the board!
Lorenza loves spending time with family and friends from both of her countries, enjoying delicious food and wine, exercising in the outdoors and watching tv shows holding hands with her husband.
One of her favorite sentiments is a song title from her daughter’s elementary school sing-along book: Make New Friends and Keep the Old.
On the board since 2024
Email: programming@iwfbologna.com
PROGRAMMING
Lorna Piazzi
Lorna has been a member of IWF since 2022 and has attended every monthly IWF meeting since then. As you can tell, she thoroughly enjoys being part of the IWF group and social life. Originally from Bologna, she returned there after living in Spain for 13 years. She is currently relishing yet another new job and another new apartment, as her motto is "nothing is permanent except change!
On the board since 2023
Email: programming@iwfbologna.com
WEB ADMINISTRATOR
Stephanie Sinclair
Stephanie is also IWF Board Secretary since 2021and Interest Group Leader of the Diners Club since 2018.
Email: web@iwfbologna.com
SOCIAL MEDIA + COMMUNICATION
Cinzia Pais
Cinzia was born in Italy but raised in the USA for most of her life before moving to Bologna in 2021 to be closer to family. Cinzia is a multidisciplinary creative director guiding global brands and startups in creating innovative brand narratives, specializing in the luxury, hospitality and lifestyle sector. Her life experience spans from Los Angeles, New York & currently Bologna. She joined IWF to connect with like minded International women and to discover her new home. She brings her expertise in marketing, communication to follow IWF's social media and brand image. In her free time, she loves traveling, taking photos, fitness, socializing, spending time with friends and family.
On the board since 2023
Email: media@iwfbologna.com
IWF BOLOGNA FOUNDER
Julie Wade
Julie originally arrived from Chicago to study at the University of Bologna. Passionate about the Italian language and intrigued by the city, she chose to live in Bologna after graduation. Fast forward seven years, now feeling fully immersed into the local language and culture, Julie realized that she was beginning to feel disconnected from her “past” self. So, to bridge the two worlds she inhabited, she sought out to create a community with other internationally-minded women. The IWF was founded with the purpose of creating an English-speaking cultural, professional and social network both for foreign women who had moved to Bologna as well as for Italian women with similar international experiences. Despite having moved to Ravenna shortly after the IWF’s inception, she has stayed an active member of the group, her focus being on community outreach and volunteer work. Julie is always amazed at the countless inspiring women she has met along the way.