Founder, Italian Teacher, Textile Arts Instructor

Maria Caterina Ferretti was born in L’Aquila, Italy. She spent her childhood in Canada and has lived much of her adult life between Europe and North America.

She received her doctoral degree in Foreign Languages & Literature and Art History, from the University of Pisa, Italy, where she lived until the age of 29. After working as a buyer for Siemens International, as well as a Patient Liaison Coordinator for the US Army clinic in Italy, she accepted a job in Paris France, where she worked as a Commercial Linguist and Director of Staff Programs for private institutions offering executive language coaching.

A teacher at heart, she has been teaching Italian and English as a second language, to students of all ages, for as long as she can remember.

“Signora Maria” also received a Master in Special Education (with a specialization in Deaf studies) from Bowling Green State University in Ohio, and worked as a teacher of the Deaf in Massachusetts before becoming a full time mother of two children.

She lives with her children, her husband and their two cats”, in Concord, MA.

She continues to foster her love of languages, art and cultural diversity by teaching Italian and Art programs through Concord Scholars, which she founded in September of 2021.

In her spare time, she enjoys writing, cooking, sewing and walking in the woods with her family.

German Teacher

Cara Pickens-Noble is an alumna of the Internat Neubeuern , Germany.

She earned her BA in Economics from Wellesley College and a Master in Education from Harvard University. She also holds graduate certifications from Georgetown University and Johns Hopkins University.

During her many years of teaching, both in Germany and in America, (in institutes such as the Munich International School and Boston Latin School), she has worked with students of all ages, as well as with students with developmental and learning disabilities.

In her free time, Cara enjoys walking her dog Otto.

American Sign Language Teacher

Christine Skwersky was born Deaf. She is a wife and mother of two hearing, young adults whom she and her husband signed to since the day they were born. She also uses ASL to communicate with her dog Ruby.

An alumna of Clarke School for the Deaf, Christine is also a graduate of Northeastern University, where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering Technology.

For years, she worked as a Project/CAD Engineer and Web Developer.

She has also acted as Vice President of the Association of Deaf Women of Massachusetts and has dedicated much of her life to working with and for the Deaf community. Some of her projects include founding the NU Deaf Club, organizing fundraisers, and training both hearing and deaf individuals to use Video Relay services.

In her free time, Christine enjoys boot camp, swimming and Zumba. She also loves to travel the world, to sail, hike and go geocaching with her husband.

As a teacher of ASL, she continues to build bridges between the Deaf and hearing communities.

Art Educator - Bookmaking & Printmaking Instructor

Lauren Paquette Owenmark is an artist, art educator, and art therapist.

She received her undergraduate degree in studio art and psychology from Georgetown University, and soon after became a graduate of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago’s MA in art therapy program.

While in college, Lauren returned to Buenos Aires (where she lived as a child), to continue her studies in Spanish, at the Universidad del Salvador.

Her first love in art was sculpture: chiseling in soapstone, carving in wood and hand building in clay. It was during this time that she started making books.

Lauren has over 20 years of experience working as an art therapist and art teacher with children, adolescents and adults

After having lived in San Francisco, for many years, she recently returned to the East Coast with her family, and is now collaborating with Concord Scholars to share her love of print and book making with students in our afterschool enrichment program.

Italian Teacher

Francesca Fadda was born in Genoa, Italy, and has lived and worked in Naples, Milan and Rome. It is in fact in the eternal city of Rome that she met her husband (also a collaborator of Concord Scholars) and began her family life.

Her thirst for new experiences and her belief that life is an adventure that change can only enrich us as human beings, are what led her, her husband and their daughters Gaia and Alessia to pursue a life in the USA.

Francesca holds a certification in International NLP Life Coaching, and is specialized in Emotional Intelligence, Communication and women’s empowerment.

Her training as a Life Coach has brought her ever closer to the teaching methods she uses to share her beloved Italian culture and language.

In Francesca’s words: “Teaching means accompanying students on their journey towards discovering something magical and significant, until they reach their goals. All students, with their own qualities, contribute to making each lesson unique!”

Spanish Teacher

Elbis Dominguez is a native Spanish speaker from Mexico. She has been teaching her native language for over six years in Boston area schools. She loves to create an interactive classroom setting, incorporating books, songs, short films, and games into her teaching style, and has extensive experience designing and developing Spanish language curriculums.

Elbis earned a B.A. in Anthropology (specializing in Mesoamerican Archaeology) from the Universidad de las Américas Puebla, Cholula, Puebla, Mexico. Her love for archeology has also led her to conduct studies on multiple ancient sites in Central Mexico.

Mrs. Dominguez is also a graduateof Gordon College, where she completed a Master of Education in Foreign Language (Spanish) .

She loves reading Spanish and Latin American literature. In her spare time she also enjoys swimming, spending time with her daughter, her husband and their dog Trens.

Teacher of Mindfulness, Meditation & Yoga

“You were not made to live as brutes, but to pursue virtue and knowledge…” Dante Alighieri, The Divine Comedy, XXVI Canticle

Domenico Demuru started his research on human consciousness in 2008, exploring OBE, Lucid Dreaming, Shamanic techniques, EMF balancing, REIKI. He received his certification in Theta-Healing in 2011, and later became a certified Mindfulness trainer in 2018.

Mr. Demuru has worked for more than 20 years as sales and retail manager. He has operated in the oil, food, sport, textile, toys and entertainment industries. His passion for personnel management stemmed from his love of working with people, fostering relationships and facilitating communication.

Domenico is also the author of two books (which were published in his native Italian language) on the themes of expanding consciousness and the pursuit of happiness: “La felicità nel cassetto” and “Introduzione alla felicità”.

Following his philosophy and conviction that life is a continuous journey of transformation, in the pursuit of knowledge, Domenico moved with his wife (Francesca Fadda; also a staff member of Concord Scholars) and his daughters to the USA, in 2023, where he continues to share his skills as an outreach trainer.