Core Team
Team & consultants
We operate via a core team of researchers and project managers and our work is supported by a broad network of consultants and trainers that we contract on purpose on individual projects.
Contact Info
Phone Number
+39 340 799 7555
core team
Maria Sangiuliano
Maria is Research Director and co-owner at Smart Venice, where she has led the development of the research and consultancy branch of the company since the beginning. She currently leads, provides scientific and methodological advice and guidance and supervives the Smart Venice project portfolio and is also in charge of strategic partnership development for the organization.
As a senior researcher, project manager and gender expert, Maria has 20+ years’ experience in designing and executing EU funded projects focused on mainstreaming gender particularly in the areas of innovation policies, employment and education, with a focus on intersectionality and multicultural integration.
Before founding Smart Venice:
- From 2016 Until 2019 she has been a Senior Research Fellow at Ca’ Foscari University (Department of Computer Sciences) in charge of implementing the EQUAL-IST H2020 project supporting 7 ICT Research Organizations in conducting internal gender audits and co-design their Gender Equality Plans.
- From 2010 to 2016 she has consulted and worked with several European level ngos and consultancy organizations as a gender expert and researcher
- From 2000 until 2010 she has coordinated the EU funded projects and services on gender equality for Local Authorities and metropolitan cities in the Veneto Region.
Very active in EU level networking and knowledge sharing activities, Maria has been leading the Action Cluster on Citizen Engagement at the EIP European Innovation Partnership Smart Cities and Communities since 2014, currently advisory board member of the Smart Cities Market Place. She has also contributed to the e-skills week european campaign and the GenderSTE Cost network as a member.
She holds a PhD in Cognitive and Learning Studies, a Master Degree in Migration Studies and a Master in Training Policies and Methodologies, and her education has been complemented with a Summer School at Central European University on Feminist Intersectionality and a Training Course at ILO (International Labor Organization) on Gender Audit Methodology.
In her free-from-work- time Maria volunteers in social innovation activities on shared childcare and education, reads feminist novels and essays, walks her super energetic dogs, enjoys exchanges with family and friends, if possible outdoor and in contact with nature.
Skills
- Strategic leadership
- Programme management
- Research design and coordination
- Capacity building design and delivery
- Co-creation and participatory design
core team
Calogero Lo Giudice
Calogero is Smart Venice legal representative and serves as Chief Operation Officer in charge of Administration and accounting.
He founded Smart Venice with Maria and other shareholders steering the ideation and execution of the first company activity: an urban regeneration project aimed at creating a new venue for music and culture in Venice, founding the Laguna Libre Jazz Club and Restaurant, where he is currently Director.
Calogero has extensive experience in communication and events organization, being the founder and CEO of two cooperatives between 1990-2007 organizing festivals, exhibitions, and events for local authorities in the Veneto, Puglia and Sicily Regions and through international collaborations with Ministries of Culture and Foundations in Hungary and Romania.
With Maria Sangiuliano in 2007 he co-lead the production of multimedia digital tools to contrast gender stereotypes targeting upper secondary schools’ students within the ESF- EQUAL PONTI project. From 2007- 2013 he has been working at the City of Venice Government as Head of the Secretariat of the Councilor for Cultural and Environmental Affairs, coordinating multiannual programs.
As a background education, Calogero has a degree in Economics of Tourism Management at Ca’ Foscari University and a Master in Project Management from the University of Padua.
Calogero is passionate about jazz, world and fusion music and loves to spend time with family and friends as well as to travel and enjoy time with family and friends.
Skills
- Business Management/Administration
- Accounting
- Communication
- Artistic direction
- Events organization
Contact Info
Phone Number
+39 347 268 7620
core team
Marzia Cescon
Marzia is researcher and project manager at Smart Venice since 2018: since then she contributes to the management and implementation of ongoing projects and is active in the drafting of new proposals as well. She also in charge of the financial reporting of EU projects.
Currently, Marzia is particularly active in the Horizon 2020 CALIPER project where she is in charge of the monitoring and evaluation process and Horizon Europe BIAS project, where she focuses on the development of the co- creation methodology. She attended the GE Academy train the trainer course in 2020 and is a qualified gender trainer as well.
As a background, Marzia holds a Master Degree in Business Administration as well as a Master Diploma in Global Economics and Social Affairs at Ca’ Foscari University in Venice in partnership with the International Labour Organization, where she graduated with honors.
Prior to joining Smart Venice she worked as Junior EU Project Officer at the Veneto Regional
Government where she worked on a wide array of EU funded projects mainly focused on SMEs, sustainable development and tourism. She also spent some months in Brussels working for the European Delegation of Unioncamere del Veneto. Marzia is also active in the third sector with an NGO promoting raising awareness activities, such as events and festivals, on global economic, social and environmental issues. She also volunteers teaching Italian to refugees. She has a passion for trekking, diving and meditation.
Skills
- Financial reporting
- Programme evaluation
- Project management and proposal writing
- Socio economic research
- Capacity building design and delivery
- Co-creation and participatory design
core team
Oriana Salomon Balsamo
Oriana is researcher and project manager at Smart Venice since 2021 where she contributes to research design, data analysis and project management as well. She is at present mainly involved in the Horizon Europe FIERCE project, studying democratic practices of feminist movements and organizations. In that framework, she is also collaborating with the methodological design and implementation of co-creation labs between academic partners and feminist movements aimed at strengthening democracy in Europe. She has also been in charge of data analysis of the final evaluation report of the GE Academy project, as well as the design of a feasibility study and business model for a Pan European Network of gender trainers. She has also contributed to the Horizon 2020 CASPER project in a benchmark study of certification systems for gender equality and diversity in research. Oriana holds a Master Degree in Local Development at the Università degli Studi di Padova (Italy), where she graduated with honors, and a Bachelor Degree in Economics at the Universidad del Pacífico (Peru). Before joining Smart Venice, she gained experience in consulting and research on public policy, especially in the health and education sectors, working as a senior analyst in Videnza Consultores (Peru) from 2016
to 2020. She has also worked in the design, implementation and evaluation of development projects with national, international and cooperation organizations. Between 2013 and 2015 she worked as Research Assistant at Universidad del Pacífico Research Centre.
Oriana has a passion for rural development working with Amazon indigenous peoples, what she has done in Peru, her country of origin during her master studies. There, she also volunteered in different organisations with people in a situation of vulnerability. Oriana is also an arts enthusiast:, she has played the piano for more than ten years and worked in the Lima Cinema Film Festival until she moved to Italy. She also loves traveling and discovering new places.
Skills
- Socio economic research
- Data analysis
- Research design
- Programme evaluation
- Project management and proposal writing
- Co-creation and participatory design
core team
Martina Panzolato
Skills
- Consultant & Project Manager
- Program analysis
- Design
- Project reporting
core team
Anita Mezza
Anita joined Smart Venice in 2024 as a Researcher and Project Manager, working on project implementation and contributing to new proposals. She is currently involved in Horizon Europe projects FITTER-EU, researching the origins, dynamics and determinants of inequalities in the context of the twin transition in Europe, and NEXUS, developing the monitoring and evaluation methodology for innovative actions bridging inclusivity gaps in research organizations.
Before joining Smart Venice, Anita worked at the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) in Vilnius, Lithuania, conducting statistical analysis with a focus on intersectional inequalities for the Gender Equality Index, the annual composite indicator monitoring gender equality in European Member States. A co-author of the 2023 Gender Equality Index publication with a focus on gender equality and the green transition, she also contributed to data visualization and reviewed technical documents for publication. Previously, she has developed her research skills working at the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Education Directorate, the Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies and UK-based public services consultancy The PSC, working on topics such as teacher professionalism, gendered patterns in political participation, and the development of digital public services.
Anita holds a master’s degree in educational sciences from the University of Helsinki and an undergraduate degree in philosophy and psychology from the University of St Andrews. Outside of work, Anita enjoys singing as part of a choir, as well as swimming and hiking.
Skills
- Researcher and Project Manager
- Project implementation
