Ferdinando Merlonghi was the Assistant Vice President in the International Division at State Street Bank in Boston, MA. Since returning to Italy, he has helped organize courses of Italian for Foreigners for EU programs and private institutions. During the summers, he takes a group of students to Parma, Italy for intensive language courses.
Joseph Tursi is Professor Emeritus of Italian at Stony Brook University. He has also been Chairman of the Department of French and Italian, Director of Teacher Training in Foreign Language Education and Director of the Doctor of Arts in Foreign Languages Program. He is past president of several professional language organizations on the local, state, and national levels, including President of the National American Association of Teachers of Italian.