Australian Calabrese Cultural Association

I am a director of a small business – Zaia and Associates, a company with more than a decade of history. My company is a business that focuses on migrants, migration and the issues of settlement in Australia. Zaia and Associates provides consultancy to organisations and individuals on multicultural issues.

Prior to the establishment of my business, I was a Senior Officer with the Department of Immigration. The major task was related to funding and a broad range of settlement services for refugees and migrants. I also had the responsibility for the management of a regional office in Melbourne.

I have extensive experience with the provision of services to voluntary organisations, included amongst these, I was a founding member of the Victorian Foundation of Survivors of Torture, Member and chairperson for the Board of the Saint Paul’s Maronite Hostel, Member and Chairperson of the Moonee Ponds Central School Council, Member of the Buckley Park Secondary College and the Rose Street Kindergarten. I am also the Secretary for the National Italian Australian Foundation and a voluntary Probation Officer.

I have a strong interest in Italian history and the issues effecting the media settlement of Southern Italians and I am committed to redressing how the media perceives and portrays these people and groups.

I am strongly committed to working with like-minded people to not only address and respond to the media’s perception of Italians, but to advance the culture and history of Southern Italians to themselves and the broader Australian community.