Giulia was born and raised in the Dolomite foothills of Italy. After studying for short time at the University of Padua, Giulia pursued a career at the Consortium Institute of Management and Business Analysis (CIMBA), located in Asolo, Italy as executive assistant and program coordinator. While working at CIMBA for 5 years she was able to develop an important understanding and appreciation for different cultures. In 2006 Giulia obtained her Executive Certificate in International Management. It was through all these experiences and contacts that Giulia set out on a personal journey that landed her in Seattle, Washington. Giulia joined the SLA staff in 2008 as Foreign Language Program Coordinator and is currently studying Japanese.

Marc Mariani has lived and studied in Rome, where he taught English to Italians and Italian to Americans. He holds Master's degrees in Classical languages (Greek) and in Romance languages (Italian) from the University of Washington. Co-founder of Seattle Language Academy, Marc has been teaching languages since 1986 and is the Executive Director of SLA.

Amy Dashiell grew up in Arizona and discovered her love of traveling in high school, when she and 300 other students went on a tour of Europe. She moved to Seattle in 2006 and joined Seattle Language Academy in the summer of 2009. She is currently studying Spanish, and hopes to use it in future travels to Central and South America.

Originally from Pennsylvania, Megan McNelis moved to Seattle after receiving a BA in English Writing from the University of Pittsburgh. After eight years as a City Code Editor, she returned to school and graduated from Seattle University with a certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages. Megan spent 2006-2007 as a Literacy*Americorps member, coordinating Seattle Public Library’s ESL Talk Time program. In her spare time, Megan loves to swim and enjoys Seattle’s thriving cinema scene. She has studied seven foreign languages, usually in preparation for her travels throughout Europe, China and Morocco. Megan is SLA’s English Language Program Student Advisor.

Born and raised in small-town California, David Godfrey exchanged his dusty flip-flops for rain boots at 18 when he moved to Seattle to begin his undergraduate studies. It was here that he discovered his passion for languages and international relations. While in school he seized every opportunity to travel, spending a semester abroad in Madrid and traveling to Mexico and Quebec in between quarters. After graduation, David’s insatiable wanderlust led him to Paris, where he taught English for a year and took advantage of the French affinity for paid vacation to travel extensively through Europe. He speaks Spanish and French and is learning Portuguese and Arabic. David is SLA’s evening receptionist and administrative assistant.

Amy Lastuka grew up in Arizona and discovered her love of traveling in high school, when she and 300 other students went on a tour of Europe. She moved to Seattle in 2006 and joined Seattle Language Academy in the summer of 2009 as Administrative Assistant. She is currently studying Spanish, and hopes to use it in future travels to Central and South America.

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