Our Board & Contact Form

We would love to hear from you!
If you would like to contact us, please email by clicking on the button below.

For specific enquiries, email one of our Board members whose profiles and details are listed below.

The Board meets on a monthly basis (excluding the summer) to monitor progress, make decisions and plan for the future. If you have an issue that you would like discussed at a board meeting, please email our secretary at least 3 days before the meeting.

Email Secretary

Our Board

Simone Zaminer

President

Simone is a strategic business consultant and project manager, who worked all over Europe before moving from her native town Munich to Modena in 2013 with her Italian husband, whom she met during her MBA at SDA Bocconi Milan, and her two children. Although fluent in Italian and having great support from her family, she struggled with trying to socialize and integrate into her new environment. Thus, her idea of founding a network of like-minded women, who support each other in all aspects of life was born! Simone was President of IWA Modena for the first 3.5 years and returned to this position in 2020. She is responsible for the strategic direction and management of the association and all its engagement activities. In her free time, she loves travelling and meeting new people, mountain sports (skiing, trekking), all kinds of dancing; especially Tango and finding her core with Pilates and Mindfulness.

LinkedIn

Deniz Aydoslu

Vice President and Treasurer

Deniz moved to Italy in the summer of 2018 after marrying an Italian from Sassuolo, Modena. She joined the IWA and has assumed treasury duties since February 2019. She used to work as a Freelance Investment Advisor to companies and family offices investing in Turkey and Turkish companies investing abroad. She is passionate about travelling, keeping an active lifestyle and Camilla (her in-laws dog).

LinkedIn

Sam Frearson-Tubito

Engagement Director

Sam is as global a nomad as you can get. She grew up all over the world. She’s lived in 14 countries in 18 cities… so far.
She is fluent in Italian, French and English and has learned 4 more along the way. You could say her story is one of movement. She’s also a mother of 4, an avid reader and a dog lover.
Since moving to Modena in August, she has embraced her husband’s home country with enthusiasm and looks forward to discovering more of Modenese life.
She is passionate about supporting women in need and supporting local initiatives and looks forward to supporting previous and future partnerships with community associations within the local Modenese community. She also heads the IWAM Book Club and co-leads the Hike Squad.

LinkedIn

Kerstin Leiters

Social Relations Director

Kerstin grew up in Munich, Germany. She studied International Management in Lancaster, England and has an M.Sc. in Industrial Engineering. She worked for the automotive industry in research & development in the area of quality management. She moved to Italy in 2014 together with her husband and two children Philippa (born 2011) and Rafael (born 2014). She enjoys hiking, mountain biking, skiing and traveling. Following 3.5 years as the IWA Modena treasurer and 2.5 years as the IWAM President, she was also the IWAM Vice President for a year too.

Lavinia Nitu

Empowerment Director

Lavinia is a documentary family photographer based in Italy who has been photographing people across Europe since 2005. She grew up in Bucharest (Romania) where she studied economics. She met her husband in Venice and decided to follow the passion that brought them together and become a photographer. They have continued to travel the world, documenting communities and photographing nature.

LinkedIn

Sabrina Sattler

Marketing and Communications Director

Sabrina is from Germany and moved to Modena in 2015 after spending more than ten years in the United States. She studied International Business in Germany before moving to Texas where she graduated with an International MBA and an M.S. in Business Administration. She has worked in various industries in Egypt, Germany, France and the United States and now works as a freelance research consultant. Her areas of expertise are qualitative and quantitative research methodologies and statistical data analysis. In her free time, she enjoys travelling, scuba diving, skiing and discovering the beautiful Italian countryside.

LinkedIn

Rosy Stainer

Public Relations and Outreach Director

Rosy has been an IWA member since 2017 and since then, an active member of the Events team, organizing IWAM events including the charity gala.
She is Italian and first moved to Modena in 1983. She is married to a Brit; David, and has two daughters.
Rosy currently works as a financial consultant at Banca Carisbo Intesa Sanpaolo. She likes meeting up with friends and amateur theatre; she is also on the Board of the Modena Theatre Workshop.

LinkedIn

Eva Young

Secretary

Eva has been an IWA Member since its inception and lives in the hills of Modena with her family. Although born in Sweden, her formative years were spent in Britain.
Eva is currently an in-class teacher for various state schools and an external lecturer of English at the University of Modena. Passions include naked eye astronomy, yoga and trekking. She is also a member and joint leader of the Creatives interest group.