Scott Sheridan currently oversees IES Abroad Centers in France, Italy, and the Asia-Pacific, and serves as the inaugural Director of the Center of Excellence in Teaching and Learning Abroad (CETLA) at IES Abroad. He holds a Master’s degree in Modern Languages from the University of Nebraska—Lincoln, and a PhD in French literature from the University of Iowa. As Professor Emeritus of French and Italian at Illinois Wesleyan University, Scott spent 23 years on the faculty and as a department chair and program director. In addition to language and area studies courses in French and Italian, as a full Professor Scott offered courses in French cinema and Italian cinema, as well as International Studies and Humanities.

Among Scott’s publications and academic conference presentations, his scholarship focuses broadly on popular media and global stereotypes. His work in the area of children’s studies led to his involvement in several international symposia, and for several years he has served on the jury of the Chicago International Children’s Film Festival.

Giacomo Faenza is an Italian director and screenwriter. He works both for cinema and television. He has written and directed several films: the feature movie Le Piccole Idee, 2014; the short films La donna che adottò suo figlio, 2002 winner of the Audience Award at Montelanico International Film Festival 2003 and Gadget Men, 2007 for DWeb Fashion Fiction produced by Gruppo Espresso; Caro Parlamento, 2008, a documentary on the difficult job situation of young workers in Italy in comparison with the principles stated in the Italian Constitution; TV docu-fictions Illuminate on Nobel Prize Rita Levi Montalcini for Rai 3, 2018 and Buonasera Presidente on former Italian Presidents of Republic for Rai Storia, 2019. 

As a screenwriter he has written the feature movie Alla Luce del Sole, 2004 and the documentary Viaggio nell'animo dei figli della Shoah 2014. He published a mystery novel set in Rome in present and past times entitled Ciao ciao commissario, published by Mursia 2022.