Biography

An Early Start. Born in Reggio Calabria, Italy on February 20, 1973, Francesco de Leo showed an early interest in serving and supporting his community during his high school years. Elected at sixteen years of age as the student representative for the council for the province of Reggio Calabria regarding public education, he held this position for two years.

Adventurer. Francesco left his beautiful Calabria in July, 1992, to begin his American adventure at the George Washington University, in Washington D.C., where he obtained his Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1997. Two years later, in 1999, he obtained a Masters degree in Engineering Management and Systems Engineering, specializing in information systems.

Husband and Father. Also in 1999, Francesco married Agnese, and they currently enjoy raising their three children, Antonio, Isabella and Stefano.

Entreprenuer. During the Internet boom, Francesco provided consulting and software development services to various organizations, including the World Bank and other international organizations. He collaborates with the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), an international standards body governing the use and development of the Internet to develop interoperable technologies (specifications, guidelines, software, and tools) to lead the Internet and is the Director of Web Applications and Enterprise Data Management at The George Washington University. In 2003, Francesco received the EDUCAUSE award for Excellence in Administrative Information Systems and the Association for Communication Technology Professionals (ACUTA) award for Institutional Excellence in Communication Technologies.

Scholar. Complementing his business and professional experience, Francesco pursues a doctorate degree (D.Sc.) in Engineering Management and Systems Engineering, investigating implications of national culture on Knowledge Management initiatives. Moreover, he serves on the board of directors of the Institute for Knowledge and Innovation, DC.

Community Service. Desiring to help others, Franscesco, together with a group of Italian and American professionals, developed Work Center, a career and networking non-profit organization that promotes and enhances human, economic and cultural relationships among its members. This initiative, which initially started in response to the declining job market in the United States, has also collaborated with Italian organizations to assist to the needs of Southern Italy.

In the same spirit that inspired Work Center, Francesco is actively pursuing the needs of the developing world. He collaborates with the AVSI Foundation (The Association of Volunteers in International Service) creating an on-line presence for AVSI-USA and providing technology consultations regarding the role of information and communication technologies in the development of emerging and third world countries.

Always Italian. Francesco maintains a constant relationship with Italians living abroad, participating in National Italian American Foundation's events and activities (NIAF), in the Istituto Culturale di Washington, in the Casa Italiana, and the Italian Holy Rosary Church in Washington, D.C.