Turan Tanin – District 109 Director
Turan is a senior trainer, coach and mentor with a degree in Engineering of Electronics and Telecommunications. A Toastmaster since 2017, he is a public speaking and personal development enthusiast. Turan has previously served as President, Division Project Manager, Area and Division Director, and Club Growth Director. In Toastmasters he discovered a wonderful world of diverse people who come together because they want to improve themselves and the society we live in.
Margherita Brodbeck Roth, DTM – District 109 Program Quality Director
Margherita holds an MSc UZH in geography, political sciences and history and an MBA. She works as a data quality program manager and is fluent in five languages. A Toastmaster since 2016, she has served as Area Director, Club President, VPE, VPM, VPPr, Secretary and SAA, and as a mentor and trainer. She loves travelling around the world virtually and, time permitting, in person to experience the many vibrant and diverse Toastmasters communities.
Giannis Kanlis – District 109 Finance Manager
Giannis Kanlis is a Senior Officer in the Hellenic Navy and an Economist. He holds an MBA in financial management from NPS (USA) and a MSc in Economics from University of Peloponnese (GR), both summa cum laude . He is currently the Head of Hellenic Navy DefenseInvestment Budget Department, managing the financial aspects of the Navy Investment Assets of aprox.1.5 billions € in transactions. A Toastmaster since Oct 2020, he has served as VPE, mentor, and coach. He is an avid reader, a fencing veteran, and a travel aficionado
Marco Albasio
A Toastmaster member since 2018, he is the VPPR of the Milan-Easy club. Marco is passionate about cross-cultural influencing as a method of advancing our knowledge and standard of living. Marco is convinced that the best way to create value is to merge the best of different points of view, which are openly expressed when a positive environment has been created.
Nicolas Borrero
A Toastmaster since 2021, is the VPE officer at the Como Lakers Club. Nicolas is currently the enthusiastic Public Relations chair for the D109 Milano 2023 spring conference. He is passionate about the art of public speaking and leadership.
Keith Sheldrake – Contest Chair
Keith has been a Toastmaster since 2009 and has been a member of 7 clubs in that time. He is currently the VPE Mentoring for Toastmasters Torino and the VPPR for Eloquentis. Keith has competed in all the Toastmasters Contests – this year he has changed to the organisation side of the contests as Contest Chair.
Yoko Owatari
Yoko’s Toastmasters journey started in Geneva and Tokyo in 2019. As a winner of the 2020 Swiss Novice Contest, she firmly believes in how speech contests enable members’ confidence in public speaking. As a former VPE, she also cherishes teamwork in preparing speech contests while learning how to be a better communicator among international stakeholders.
Gianni Curci
Gianni’s Toastmasters journey has started in Milan in 2015. He has served as VPE, President, Area Director and Mentor for new Clubs. He is strongly convinced that Toastmasters is the best Organization to encourage and enable members to find their voice, to share their story, and achieve their communication and leadership goals. Gianni is passionate about Leadership. An optimistic person, his favourite quote is: “Ideas come to life only when we share them.”
Fiore Lux – Social Activities Lead
Fiore’s Toastmasters journey started in 2021 when she covered the role of Secretary for Milan Easy Club. Passionate about leadership, she is convinced of the importance of teamwork for personal growth. She joined Toastmasters to get confidence with public speaking and improvisations. During her spare time she dances tango, she hikes with her dogs, and she trains to one day reach Sicily by bicycle.
Evrim Sengules – Finance Lead
Evrim joined Toastmasters in 2022 as a member of Milan Easy club. Born in Anatolia and now living in Europe she considers herself as a synergy of a wide cultural diversity. She is enthusiastic about cross-cultural exchanges to engage and inspire people to express the best of themselves while enriching herself through synergies born from those interactions.
Annunziata Rispoli – Venue Lead
A Toastmaster member since 2022, proud VPE assistant of the Milan Easy Club. Titti is very passionate about multicultural environments, she loves to travel, meet new people and always learn something new. She is convinced that to create value and shape a better world we need to always challenge ourselves, keep on learning and get out there to discover new and amazing things that can make us better people!
Domenico Menegazzi
Domenico joined Toastmasters in 2020, at the beginning of the Pandemic, and he had to wait more than a year before enjoying the magic of an in-person presence at the club. After taking roles as SAA and VPM he is now President of the Verona club. He believes that Toastmasters is a sterling tool to break communication barriers, become an effective speaker and be part of a passionate community.
Anja Achenbach
Moving to Italy, Anja started her Toastmasters journey in 2019 together with a new career as Storytelling Coach and Intercultural Business Trainer/Facilitator. With a background in Journalism, Communication and Training, she has been dealing with stories throughout all her professional life and firmly believes in the power of stories to learn and grow together. Anja is a member of The Milliners (Milan) and former VPE assistant for The Como Lakers.
Berit Dahl – Chief Judge
Berit has been a Toastmasters member in Zurich since 2017. Having started her journey to better public speaking, communication and presentation, she also uses the opportunities that Toastmasters offer to strengthen her leadership skills. She has served as Area Director, Secretary, mentor and club coach. She has gained a lot of expertise about contests by serving in all kinds of roles on different levels during the last 3 seasons.
Harry Loots – Webmaster
Harry is a past Lecturer and Software Design Engineer. Semi-retired he has now turned his hand to authoring, coaching, and leading treks in African mountains. A DTM since 1989, he has served in various leadership roles including District Secretary, and was awarded the District 74 ICSA Administrator’s Trophy in 1989. Harry is a member of Zuriberg Toastmasters. He’s written a book, and blogs at https://mountain-paths.com, about his adventures in the mountains.
Marika Dubiel – Educational Program Lead
A Toastmaster since 2018, and is currently an Area Director. A highly knowledgeable learning leader with expertise in learning technologies, instructional design, coaching and adult learning. She researched a wide range of learning processes, including language acquisition, leadership development, and special needs education. Passionate about sharing her expertise, and does it through public speaking, mentoring, and on her YouTube channel, Mastery Muse.
Tarek Desir – Public Relations Lead
Tarek is a seasoned member of Toastmasters, currently President at Athens Toastmasters Academy. Tarek has held various roles within the club, including Club Secretary, Sergeant-at-Arms, VP of PR, and President. He has also served as Area Director. Originally from Miami, he has lived in Athens for over a decade. Tarek brings a wealth of experience to the table.
Katarina Primozic Ramoves
Passionate people, culture, and communications officer with more than a decade of experience in the field of HRM. Acted as HR consultant, and a mentor for organizations, employees and managers on HR, employee experience, culture, engagement, personal development, leadership, communications, and labour law. Toastmaster for the last 10 years, supporting the development of the Toastmasters community in Slovenia. “This is how I give back”.
Giulia Maugeri
A Toastmaster since 2019, she is VPE of the Milan-Easy Club. Passionate about cross-cultural exchange as an enabler to discover new perspectives. She enjoys the open-minded atmosphere of Toastmasters where we challenge ourselves in a constructive way, inspiring and supporting each other. She believes that learning is a never-ending path and Toastmasters has the best mix to make this path fruitful while connecting with new people!
Fabrizio Erasmino Aviles Zuniga
Joined TM in 2019. Has an MBA and works in digital marketing and tourism. He speaks and writes 5 languages and is learning more, and his curiosity for new things and topics is what drives him.
He is VPPR of Milliners club, as well as VPL (Logistics Manager), and used his skills to help the club grow in visibility and get new members, carrying on some innovative projects. His motto is “Nothing’s over while I’m breathing”, and he believes perseverance is key in all aspects of life.
Matteo Scansetti
Matteo Joined Toastmasters in 2019. After taking roles as VPM and Secretary, he is now President of the Como Lakers Club. He strongly believes that Toastmaster offers a wide package of opportunities to improve Communication skills and Leadership, challenging members in a constructive manner and a protected environment. He loves the inspiring atmosphere of multicultural groups. Lastly, he is passionate about outdoor sports like surf, windsurf and climbing.