Staff

Nadia Pinardi is Full Professor of Physical Oceanography at the University of Bologna and the Director of the Decade Collaborative Centre for Coastal Resilience. She holds a Ph.D. in Applied Physics from Harvard University, and her interests range from ocean numerical modelling and predictions to data assimilation, numerical modelling of the marine physical-biological interactions and pollutants at sea. She has written more than a hundred and seventy papers in peer-reviewed journals on a wide range of subjects. 

Cecilia brings over 17 years of experience in the US and UK, specializing in resilience to climate change and natural catastrophe risk. With extensive experience in natural catastrophe risk management and the insurance market, she adeptly merges sustainability with financial acumen, integrating climate science into business strategies, risk navigation, and adaptation promotion. Cecilia holds a master’s degree in Economics and has achieved attending laureate status in the Ph.D. programme "Future Earth, Climate Change and Societal Challenges" at the University of Bologna.

Digital Strategist and Social Media Manager with 12 years of experience managing digital communication for private sector companies and public organizations.
She holds a Bachelor's degree in Communication Studies, a Master's degree in Digital Communication, and a Master's in Digital Marketing from Bologna Business School.
She is skilled at effectively narrating the stories of the organizations she collaborates with and excels at creating valuable connections between people and organizations.

Elisa has extensive experience in a multinational company, having worked across various departments both in Italy and abroad at the Amsterdam offices. This broad exposure provided her with deep company knowledge, leading to her appointment as Chief Accountant for the Italian office in 2021. Always seeking new experiences, which she considers the spice of life, Elisa decided to change sectors after 16 years and embraced the opportunity to work at the University of Bologna.

Villy Kourafalou (PhD in Physical Oceanography) is a Professor at the University of Miami’s Department of Ocean Sciences and is acclaimed for pioneering research in coastal areas and marginal seas, especially in regions of large river outflows and basins of complex biophysical connectivity. She has a record of over 150 refereed publications on coastal ocean dynamics with applications on predictions and forecasts that bring ocean influence to the coastal, land and urban environments, track material transport and evaluate ocean observing system design. Prof. Kourafalou co-chairs the international "CoastPredict" program, endorsed by the UN Ocean Decade, and is a member of the Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee (STAC) of the EU Copernicus Marine Environment Monitoring Service.

Research fellow at the University of Bologna since 2024, he carries out his research in the development and creation of educational modules for the course "Resilient coastal business models". Research interests are aimed in particular at the management of the aquatic and coastal environment as a whole; the methods for the evaluation of predictive scenarios, the criteria for the definition of political and management strategies in environmental matters; methods for conducting investigations, studies and planning in aquatic and marine-coastal environments also in an international context. He currently focuses his research on the topic of sustainability and coastal resilience

Annalisa Prestianni holds a Bachelor's degree in Communication and a Master's degree in Semiotics. Her professional journey began in the field of corporate communication, where she honed her skills before transitioning to a nonprofit organization based in Bologna. In this role, she delved into events management and institutional communication.

Her approach is characterized by the integration of different skills and a deep attention to social and cultural phenomena, which allow her to effectively navigate complex communication landscapes.