L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2014 www.italoamericano.com L'Italo-Americano 5 Grazia Bennett: the woman who lived three lives If there is an Italian person well known in the San Francisco Bay Area for her community involvement and expertise, that person is Grazia Bennett. Described by the Italian mag- azine MarieClaire as "the woman who lived three lives", Grazia worked for a decade in invest- ment banking both in Europe and the U.S., followed by a profes- sional experience in education when working for the largest American non-profit in the field of international education. Currently she is working as a realtor for Sotheby's International Realty covering the residential real estate market in the San Francisco area and she has earned a place in the Top Agent Network, which represents the top 10 percent of agents in the city. While speaking with her, the topic of conversation switches easily from business to culture, and human relationships. As a matter of fact, she expe- rienced different environments and contexts during her success- ful career. This cross-cultural knowledge inspires her passions: entrepreneurship, education/ financial education and the glob- al community. Besides operating very closely with Mauro Battocchi, the Consul General of Italy, with whom she has organized success- ful events, Grazia spends a lot of her time volunteering for the Bizworld.org and the Business Association Italy America (BAIA). "I've been involved with Bizworld.org for over twenty years, and today I'm part of the Advisory Board", Grazia says of the non-profit organization start- ed in 1997 by venture capitalist Tim Draper, to teach entrepre- neurship to middle school chil- dren through a fun and engaging program. "The Bizworld's program teaches young students critical business skills: how to start a company and how the manage- ment team has different roles and responsibilities but needs to work together for the good of the com- pany. The program also makes children aware of why it is impor- tant to study math, pushes them to think out of the box and teach- es them the art of effective nego- tiation". Grazia not only was able to introduce the program in her son's middle school, but was also the first to promote the Bizworld's program in Italy in an article she helped to write for the newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore in 2012. Last year, Bizworld Italia was eventually launched, by the Italian entrepre- neur Adriano Marconetto and through his effort the program is starting to spread all over Italy. "I love that the program is taught in many underprivileged schools. Because of the Bizworld's program these kids are exposed to the dynamic of ROBERTO NATALINI business for the first time in their life and become aware of new professional possibilities" adds Grazia. Grazia Bennett is also on the Board of Directors of Business Association Italy America (BAIA), the Bay Area business organization created in 2006 focusing on representing and sup- porting Italian entrepreneurs, executives and managers working in the Bay Area. "BAIA is an open organiza- tion, everyone can join it. The members of the Board and of the Governance Board are all volun- teers and they generously donate their skills and time to the organi- zation. BAIA's financial support comes from corporate sponsors and from the yearly membership fee of those people who value our work''. Since its creation BAIA has organized or has co-sponsored more than 130 events both in the U.S. and Italy. The BAIA month- ly informal Aperitivo has become a "must" in the Bay Area. Grazia has organized some of the highest profile events for BAIA includ- ing "The Startup Game" a con- versation between William H. Draper III and Federico Faggin", "Women Entrepreneurs, the US vs. the European/Italian Experience", "Beyond Borders, The Age of Global Biotech", and most recently "Italians and Americans: How We See Each Other, A talk with Beppe Severgnini" and the "Start it! Grow it! Sell it!: the Making of a Successful Exit". Finally, when asked about how she sees Italy after so many years living abroad, Grazia reveals: "Over the past few years a new wave of Italian immigrants have come to the Bay Area. Many of them have an engineer- ing degree. They come here to work for major IT companies such as Google, Facebook or to start their companies. I am delighted to see so many well educated, smart, driven Italians moving to the Bay Area but at the same time I'm sorry for Italy, because it seems that the best and the brightest are leaving the coun- try in search of better profession- al opportunities." Grazia Bennett has been the organizer of the highest profile events for BAIA in the last years The Mayor of San Francisco Ed Lee, with Grazia Bennett 650.400.4747 AdeleDS@aol.com www.AdeleDS.com BRE# 00911740 Certied Trust, Probate and Estate Specialist Expert in preparation, promotion, and negotiation! SELLING HOMES THROUGHOUT THE BAY AREA Adele Della Santina "e Right Realtor makes all the difference." Grazia with Italian journalist Beppe Severgnini during the event "Italians and Americans: How We See Each Other, A talk with Beppe Severgnini"

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