Director

Miriam Grottanelli de Santi
Half British half Italian, grew up in Siena, studied in Cambridge, UK, lived and worked in Paris, Prague, Florence and Rome before deciding that Siena is by far the best place where to live and came back to set up a school that would give the 'right' social and academic experience to American undergrads

Administrative Assistants

David Walthall
David is a native of Mobile, AL. He fell in love with Siena and her traditions as a student abroad in 1996, and has made Tuscany his home for the past ten years. He has a B.A. in Italian from Dartmouth College and M.A. in Italian from Middlebury College. His academic interests include traditional Italian folk music and dancing, medieval pilgrimage, and transportation and sustainable development. An active member of the Italian Alpine Club and the Siena Madrigal Choir, David is thrilled to share his love of music and nature with students through frequent program outings.

Elizabeth Schwartz
Studied at the Siena School in 2007, graduated in May 2008 in English from Bryn Mawr College but loved her Italian experience so much, she is now back with us working on marketing and fund-raising. So sociable she has more friends in Siena than all the rest of us!

Scottie Allen
MA in Deaf Studies, fluent in ASL and learning Italian, came to study at the Siena School in 2007, came back to work with us in 2008 and now represents the Siena School Sign Language programs in the US. Is capable of spending the whole night chatting about existential matters and be up at 7 am to go running!

Filippo Secchi
Young, dynamic and meticulous, born and bred in Sardinia, has lived in Siena since 1999, is completing his studies in Science of Communication, loves basketball, cooking and socializing.

Joseph Hill
PhD candidate in Linguistics at Gallaudet University, came to us as a Fulbright researcher on bilingualism, then stayed on to work in 2008 and represents the Siena School Sign Language programs in the US. He is by far the tallest member of our staff, has a huge heart of gold and makes amazing peanut butter cookies!

Siena School US Liaison

Susan Atkins
Susan M. Atkins of Boston, MA is the US Liaison for the Siena School for Liberal Arts and travels the United States throughout the year to share the Siena School program information with Education Abroad Offices, faculty, administrators and students. She comes to the Siena School with 10 years experience in International Education experience. Sue serves on the National Association of International Educator's (NAFSA) Education Abroad Knowledge Community's National Team and as the Representative to the Subcommittee for Information Management. Sue holds a bachelor's degree in Management from Western New England College, Springfield, MA and MEd in Student Development, from Seattle University, Washington State.