OUR CULTURE

Internal values of empowerment, innovation, community engagement, and responsibility guide our work.

The Association for the Integration of Women is an Italian association, brought to you by an international group of friends who are innovative and motivated to give back. We work hard to find and implement best practices, be active listeners, measure our success, and continuously improve.

Reports

YOUNG, MIGRANT,AND
WOMEN-RUN

88% of board members are migrants
Founder 26 years old at time of founding AIW
75% of board members are women
5 Nationalities represented on board
Average age of board 34

FOUNDER NOTE

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CAROLINE CAPOROSSI

Founder, President

In 1902, my great-grandmother left her small village in Calabria and moved to New York in search of a dream.

My family, like thousands of others, came with nothing except their memories, skills, and culture; and they opened restaurants, introducing themselves to their new neighbors through food.

The Association for the Integration of Women is dedicated to providing newcomers to Modena, and many other cities like it, the same opportunity.

Migrant women of Modena have a story to tell. And we hope to open our doors as a space to do so—to discover, to grow, and to witness Modena’s newest community members spread roots and flourish.

BOARD OF ADVISORS

JESSICA ROSVAL

Culinary Director

Jessica is a Canadian chef working in the restaurant industry since 2001. For the last five years she's distinguished herself as a chef at Massimo Bottura's Osteria Francescana as Chef de Parti and head of international events, and most recently as the Head Chef of Casa Maria Luigia.

MARIA ASSUNTA IOELE

Treasurer

Maria is an Italian attorney registered with the Albo di Modena since 2009, apart from being a family mediator since 2008. She focuses mainly on the protection of women, children, and the under represented.

LAUREN GIEBELHAUSEN

Lauren is an American consultant with a strong background in communications and leadership effectiveness in both the business and nonprofit world. She proudly served as the youngest ever board member for the King County Boys and Girls Clubs, and also founded and chaired the Seattle Impact Network in the United States. She works for Blue Beyond, a women-owned management consulting firm, and resides in Bologna, Italy.

SOFIA ANGIDOU

Sofia Angidou has been working in the international development and charity sector for the last 17-years in numerous countries and fields. Her work is based on empowerment, and she loves to work with associations that bring social change through innovative solutions. She works as an independent consultant, supporting organizations with their planning, evaluation, and change practices.

JAMES GENTILE

James is an American professional with a 15-year career in finance and entrepreneurship. He has built and led successful private equity-funded restaurant startups in the United States; and has supported several non-profit organizations serving underprivileged children. He now works in Formula 1 as a commercial manager for Scuderia AlphaTauri F1 Team, and resides in Bologna, Italy.

MARCO SPESSOTTO

Marco is an Italian professional with experience in the finance and logistics industries. As a Bocconi University graduate in International Management, he has lived, worked, and studied between Italy and the United States. Marco works in sales and business development at Ferrari.

LILY VAYER

Lily is a French and British humanitarian lawyer specialized in International Law, Human Rights and Refugee Law. For the past 7 years, she has worked for a variety of International NGOs and European Agencies in France, Italy and Thailand. More recently, over the past year, she has been a Legal Officer for the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in Bosnia-Herzegovina.