Mark David DeSanctis was elected President and CEO of IFAFA in 2007. Prior to that, he served as Vice President for one term, and has been a member of the Board of Directors since 2004.
Mark has been an active member of IFAFA since he attended his first conference in Pittsburgh in 1991. He has taught several workshops over the years, and has done his best to contribute to each of the conferences since his first years as an IFAFA member.
Outside of IFAFA, Mark has held the position of Dance Director and Choreographer of Tradizione Vivente - The Italian Dance Group of Milwaukee, for the past 12 years. Currently, he holds the position of President, and is responsible for the overall success of the group, both from a business as well as cultural standpoint.
Mark is a graduate of the Engineering and Applied Sciences School at the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee, and holds his B.S. in Computer Science. He is currently employed as a Software Engineer for a global logistics software firm. Mark resides in Milwaukee, WI, and enjoys riding his bike by the lakefront and attending the various festivals held around the city during the summertime. He also enjoys traveling as much as possible, and plans to make it back to Italy in the very, very, very near future.
"With over 20 years of experience in the Italian Folk Arts, it is my pleasure to serve the Italian-American population by providing the leadership necessary to sustain this wonderful organization. We hold strong in our core mission, yet continue to expand our mindset in order to better research, gather, and disseminate the history of our origins - all presented through the extraordinary world of Italian Folk Arts." -- Mark DeSanctis