Donatella Melucci was born and raised in Italy. She earned her Laurea in Lingue e Letterature Straniere from the University of Bari, Italy, and received a doctorate in English Rhetoric/Composition & Linguistics from Arizona State University where she taught for many years. She is now a Visiting Assistant Professor at Georgetown University in Washington DC. Her field of specialization is methodologies for teaching Italian as a second/foreign language. Her studies have also focused on the use of technology in foreign language classes.