Five Woman, Five Industries, One Community

In March, Adele Salierno joined a conversation with The Business Association Italy America (BAIA) for Women’s History Month. Amongst, four panelists, our senior associate shared her experience of navigating an architecture career in both Italy and the United States. The audience also learned about the unique perspectives of women from the science, entrepreneurship, and technology industries. Read the panelists’ biographies below to learn more about these Bay Area leaders.

Adele Salierno - Senior Associate at Geddes Ulinskas Architects
Graduated at La Sapienza University in Rome, Adele moved to San Francisco in 2006, where she worked for Brand & Allen Architects assisting in the management of high-end construction projects for Bvlgari and Prada stores. With an international background and over 15 years of experience, Adele navigates the delicate relationship between modern design and historic architecture.

Anna Santeramo - CEO and Founder at StyleBee
Born and raised in Puglia, Anna founded StyleBee after graduating at Harvard Law School and thereafter pursuing a career in investment banking at Salomon Smith Barney in London and in the corporate Law Firm at Fried, Frank and Skadden Arpos in New York City and Los Angeles. Anna Santeramo founded StyleBee to help women access beauty services and discover beauty products at the convenience of their home or office.

Elena Orlando - Senior Research Scientist in Astrophysics at Stanford University
Focused on the discovery and explanation of the origin of energetic phenomena in the universe, Elena authored more than 280 scientific publications in international journals and is involved in NASA and ESA space missions. Elena is also a Founding Board Member of ISSNAF Bay Area Chapter and Young ISSNAF Liaison. She received a PhD in physics from the Technical University of Munich and then a fellowship from the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Germany.

Irene Mingozzi - SF Innovation Hub Director at ASTER Emilia Romagna
Working between Italy and the Bay Area, Irene is in charge of the Emilia Romagna Innovation Hub in San Francisco, which she started on behalf of the Emilia-Romagna Regional Government in 2015. In the last years, the hub Irene leads has given 60+ companies the chance to come to Silicon Valley to develop their connections and mindset.

Serena Cameirano - Principal Software Engineer at Salesforce
After she graduated in Computer Science at the prestigious Trinity College in Dublin and a summer internship at CERN, Serena obtained a Masters in Medical Engineering and Physics from King's College in London and soon after started working at Microsoft in Seattle. Serena moved to Silicon Valley in 2012 to work on the engineering team at Salesforce. She is part of the "Inspiring Fifty 2018", the 50 most influential Italian women in tech.

Moderator: Sheila Pierce Ortona - Writer and Journalist
Sheila’s work has appeared in various publications, including The Financial Times, The Washington Post, The Huffington Post Italia, Vogue Italia, and Interior Design. Beyond her home state of New York and her adopted country of Italy, she has lived in Belgium and Israel. Married to an Italian and the mother of two children, she is eternally working on a memoir that she hopes to complete once her kids grow up.