Team

Andrea D’ANGELO

Andrea D’Angelo is SAFE Foundation’s President.

Manager and project Director for over 100 large EU funded TA projects focusing on SSR, innovation for law enforcement, civil-military cooperation, rule of law and human rights. M&E expert, implemented security-related covering over 1B€ of EU funding. His academic background includes a degree in international economics, a Master in Laws and a post-graduate in Criminology.

Michele NONES

Michele Nones is Vice President of SAFE Foundation.

A graduate of the University of Genoa, he was a professor of the Luiss University in Rome until 1992 at the Faculty of Political Science.
Since 1984, he has carried out studies and consultancy in the aerospace, security and defence sector on behalf of public bodies, research centres and institutes, companies and industrial associations.
He was a consultant to the Presidency of the Council of Ministers in the Office of the Military Adviser for the Defence from 1992 to 2018. He was also Head of the Security and Defence Programme of Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI), of which he has been Vice-President since 2019.
From 2001 to 2017, he was an advisor to the Ministry of Defence – General Secretariat of Defence/National Armaments Directorate – for international agreements concerning the defence market. From 2014 to 2018 and from 2020 to 2022, he was Advisor for European Affairs to the Minister of Defence.
In addition to his institutional and scholarly activities, he collaborated with the newspapers Il Sole 24 Ore and Corriere della Sera, and currently works with Affari Esteri, Airpress, AffarInternazionali and Formiche.net.

Silvia D’ADDA

Silvia D’Adda, Chief Financial Officer at SAFE.

Developed over 80 international projects in the EU, the Balkans, Eastern European countries, Northern Africa, Middle East and Central America. M&E in-house expert, Silvia holds a degree in international economics, a Master in International Cooperation and Master in Project Management at Boston University.

She is fully fluent in English, Italian, Spanish and French.

Federico BENOLLI

SAFE Senior Associate, acting as Project Manager and CBRN Expert. He supervises the strategic business development and implementation of SAFE’s projects portfolio with a focus on Technology Innovation linked to CBRNe, Security and Intelligence.

Graduated in Criminal Law, and specialized with two Master’s Degrees focused on Forensic Science as well as novel technologies for Security, Defense and Intelligence, Federico has more than 15 years of experience in the Security and Intelligence domain and, he has implemented dozens of EU-funded projects both at EU and International level, including Southeast Asia, Central Asia, and Middle East for a total budget of approximately 60M€.

Federico is also an Officer of the Selected Reserve of the Italian Army.

Emmanuel BOUQUOT

Emmanuel Bouquot is a Senior Associate at SAFE.

Former French Gendarmerie CBRN National advisor, Emmanuel’s specific background includes a university Master degree in Science and Technology. Emmanuel works as Key Expert for the EU CoE P73 project “CBRN Protection of Critical Infrastructure in Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon”, implement by SAFE for the Lebanese component. With over 30 years of experience in military and homeland security, he has extensive skills in the development and operational conduct of specialized CBRN training and is also a lecturer for several international organization and CBRN centres.

Federica GENNA

Federica Genna is a Senior Associate at SAFE and current Member of the Management Board. With an academic background in International Relations and International Security, Federica is an experienced project manager and researcher in the fields of defense, good governance, and the rule of law. Prior to joining SAFE, Federica worked for the Council of Europe, NATO and the Dutch consultancy Ecorys. At SAFE, Federica supports business development and acquisition efforts and manages a number of projects for an overall value of more than EUR 3 million. She is fluent in English, Spanish, French and Italian and conversational in Russian.

Alessandro D’AUTILLIO

Alessandro D’Autillio is an Associate at SAFE.

Graduated in International Relations and Diplomatic Affairs – Politics and International Security, at the University of Bologna and in the lifelong learning programme in Communication and Politics for Operators in Crisis’ Areas, completing a training with the Italian special forces and one in Lebanon. Currently, Alessandro is implementing projects in the Western Balkans, Middle East and North Africa, focusing on Asset Management and CBRN. Through his working experience, Alessandro organised a large-scale exercise on CBRN protection of Critical Infrastructures in Lebanon and coordinated the delivery of over 40 different training sessions.

Alessandro CASTAGNETTI

Alessandro Castagnetti is a Senior Data Analyst and Economist specialized in Applied Economics.

After his bachelor’s and master’s degrees, he obtained a PhD in Economics from the University of Warwick in the United Kingdom. He has done research periods at the New York University and published scientific research in prestigious academic journals.

He collaborates in the implementation of international projects that require data processing and analysis. He also manages European projects in the fight against environmental crimes.

Valentina AMBROSI

Valentina Ambrosi is Financial Manager at SAFE and a current member of the Management Board.

She graduated in Economics and Business Management from the University of Trento where she took a course on financial planning for small and medium-sized enterprises. After her studies, she was responsible of the administrative, financial and logistics management at an Italian manufacturing company with international reach. She is currently attending the Executive Master in Third Sector and Social Enterprise at the Università Cattolica of Milan. At SAFE, Valentina is in charge of corporate accounting and financial monitoring of multiple donor-funded projects.

Stefano MAZZARO

Stefano Mazzaro is Junior Associate at Fondazione SAFE, where he works mainly within defence and security projects with a focus on innovative technologies. As part of this role, Stefano is involved in EDF, EDIDP, and EDA-funded initiatives. He is also actively involved in business acquisition activities and is  currently member of a NATO Science and Technology Research Task Group.

Prior to joining SAFE, Stefano worked as external consultant at the NATO Stability Policing Centre of Excellence. He holds a BA in International and Diplomatic Sciences and a MA in Strategic Sciences, and has attended specific courses dealing with the stabilization and reconstruction of areas affected by armed conflict and conflict analysis.
In 2020, he also obtained a University Master in International Humanitarian Law and Law of Armed Conflict at the Italian Center for Higher Defence Studies in Rome.

Maria ILLETTERATI

Maria Illetterati is a Junior Project Manager at SAFE.

She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Political Science, International Relations and Human Rights from the University of Padua with a grade of 110 cum laude. During that course of study, she did an Erasmus at the Faculty of Law in Zagreb, Croatia. Afterwards, she got a Master’s degree in governance of emergency in at the University of Verona. She did an internship at the Third Wing of the Military Air Force in Villafranca di Verona. She supports in the implementation of projects in the field of justice.

Victoria TOKATZIAN

Graduated cum laude in International Cooperation at the Catholic University in Milan, Victoria has several professional and personal experiences in Italy and abroad.

After an internship to the Italian Embassy in Yerevan (Armenia), Victoria worked for an Italian Private Security company in Milan. Before joining SAFE, she was Junior Project Manager in a consulting company where she specialized in Result Oriented Monitoring (ROM) activities for International Cooperation and Development Communication projects.

Victoria is an active member of the Italian Armenian community, and, thus, she wrote several articles and studies on the Caucasus region issues.

Alessandro MARANI

Alessandro Marani is an Associate at Fondazione SAFE,

Alessandro has more than 5 years’ experience in the international security field and in project management. He has managed and implemented EU-funded projects in the security and defence sector, in particular in the field of counter-terrorism, border control, protection of critical infrastructure and public spaces, maritime surveillance, OSINT and HUMINT techniques and CBRNe.  Prior to his current role, Alessandro served as a Project Manager at another company, a Policy & Lobby Officer at Amnesty International and Project Officer at UNESCO.

BA in International Law from Sorbonne University, he also holds a MA in International Affairs and Development from University Paris Dauphine – Ecole Normale Supérieure and another in International Relations from Sorbonne University.

Fluent in Italian, French and English, with knowledge of Russian and Hebrew, Alessandro excels in multilingual and multicultural environments.

Barbara CAZZOLA

Barbara obtained a degree in Foreign Languages and Literatures from the University of Verona and took part in the Erasmus project at Hedge Hill College in Ormskirk, UK.

At SAFE she is responsible for recording and checking purchase invoices of goods and services from suppliers, recording bank transactions, dealing with tax compliance requirements and support in general bookkeeping tasks.

She worked for over 20 years for a company dealing with food export to the UK market. She was in charge of processing orders and of the accounting and administrative departments.

Barbara is fluent in English and has a basic level of French.

Elisa BELLERO

Elisa Bellero is a Senior Associate at SAFE and is a marketing and communication expert with a background in classics and over 15 years of experience in leading communications  for global Companies

Maryame MOUIDA

Maryame is a Communication strategies graduate, with linguistic studies background, manages SAFE’s digital and offline communication activities.

Emad ELAMMAMI

Emad is a skilled and experienced Logistic service manager, with expertise in procurements in different fields.

With a background in Business Administration & Accounting, he has a good knowledge of the Libyan private sector.

Emad is a good communicator, a team player, and is fluent in Arabic and Good in English.

Lucia YAACOUB

Lucia Yaacoub is an interpreter/translator at SAFE.

Lucia holds a Master’s degree in Conference Interpretation, a Bachelor’s degree in Translation, and a degree in Teaching of Modern Languages from Saint Joseph University – Beirut.

She collaborated in the implementation of international projects in the fields of migration, security, and defense as language lead. She was responsible for providing translation and interpretation services in technical trainings and high-level events, arranging interpretation logistics, and acting as liaison officer between security agencies and international organizations.

Lucia is fluent in Arabic, English, French, and conversational Spanish.

Rachel DOUAIHY

Rachel has gained her experience implementing projects through USAID and EU-funded projects in the areas of security research, public administration capacity building, and civil security engagement in the Lebanese context.

Rachel collaborates in the implementation of the EU CoE P73 project “CBRN Protection of Critical Infrastructures in Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon” in its Jordanian component, as well as other projects in the Middle East and North Africa.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in biology and a master’s degree in international affairs and diplomacy from Notre Dame University in Beirut.

She speaks Arabic, French and Italian.

Rafeeq ALBREAKY

Rafeeq is a skilled and experienced Libyan local manager with expertise in project management, monitoring and evaluation, and international cooperation.

With a background in Mining Engineering, he has a strong knowledge of the Libyan public sector and extensive connections across various ministries.

Rafeeq is a good communicator, a strong team player and is fluent in Arabic and English.