L'Italo-Americano

S tarting a new job in the middle of t h e p a n d e m i c has been tough f o r m a n y . Needless to say, it is as hard i f t h a t m e a n s m o v i n g overseas to take on the role as new Consul General. Consul General of Italy, Sergio Strozzi, arrived in S a n F r a n c i s c o w i t h h i s husband, Simone, and his daughter, Caterina, at the e n d o f M a y , a f e w w e e k s before the official kick off of the mandate on June 19th. After serving as Counselor for economic-commercial a f f a i r s a t t h e I t a l i a n E m b a s s y i n B u d a p e s t , H u n g a r y , a n d a s C o n s u l General in Valona, Albania, Consul General Strozzi has embarked on a new journey, overseeing San Francisco and some states on the West Coast, among which Alaska, H a w a i i , I d a h o , M o n t a n a , Oregon, Utah, just to name a few. Consul General Strozzi is the first in the family taking a job in diplomacy: he was b o r n a n d r a i s e d i n Alessandria, Piedmont, and got his Law degree in Turin, w h i l e h e c u l t i v a t e d h i s p a s s i o n f o r m u s i c , graduating in organ music a n d c o m p o s i t i o n a t t h e M u s i c a l C o n s e r v a t o r y . B e f o r e g e t t i n g h a n d s o n foreign affairs and until his diplomatic career officially took off in 2001, he worked as an attorney. C o n s u l G e n e r a l Strozzi, welcome to San Francisco. We read your biography and learned all about your previous experience. Yet, how did y o u e n d u p i n California? After my experience in Albania, where I spent four incredible years, I went back to Rome and started working in the Directorate General f o r R e s o u r c e s a n d Innovation. Ultimately, I w a s t h e H e a d o f L e g a l Matters and, last year, I was offered the opportunity to become the future Consul General in San Francisco. Frankly, nothing or nobody could stop me from saying "Yes" to this new adventure. Is this your first time in the Bay Area? Not really. At the age of 23, I traveled to the US to attend the World Youth Day in Colorado, thanks to Pope J o h n P a u l I I . W i t h s o m e o t h e r f o l k s i n t h e g r o u p , right before the event took place, we spent time both in L o s A n g e l e s a n d t h e B a y Area. San Francisco won my heart right away, and keeps winning my heart every day. What have your first impressions been so far? Easy enough, I find San Francisco an exciting city. I love its architecture, culture, a n d p e o p l e . I l o v e w h e n someone asks me "How are you?". It shows the spirit of t h e c i t y a n d o f a l l S a n Franciscans. We haven't had time to enjoy it yet, as we've been doing all things typical of expats. We had to find a house, open a bank account, get all utilities up, and apply for an ID. And some of this stuff wasn't easy due to the pandemic and all the delays that came with it. We all wonder what t h e a v e r a g e d a y o f a C o n s u l G e n e r a l l o o k s like. Would you like to share yours? Some may easily resonate with my 7am alarm, followed by an Italian breakfast with espresso and biscotti before t a k i n g t h e M u n i t o t h e Consulate. As soon as I step into the Consulate, I regroup with my team to plan the day and set our priorities. On one hand, I need to look at all the consular matters and d e a l w i t h e m e r g e n c i e s , including passports, parents' authorizations, as well as Consul General Strozzi at San Francisco Giants Italian Heritage Night at AT&T Park - Credit Suzanna Mitchell THURSDAY, AUGUST 19, 2021 www.italoamericano.org 30 L'Italo-Americano SAN FRANCISCO ITALIAN COMMUNITY S a n F r a n c i s c o w e l c o m e s n e w C o n s u l General of Italy, Sergio Strozzi SERENA PERFETTO Continued to page 32

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