Beatrice is a  Junior Assistant Professor (RTDa) at Politecnico di Milano, her research focuses on risk assessment for managing emerging contaminants in drinking and wastewater. Throughout her academic and professional journey, she have been deeply passionate about addressing water challenges through multidisciplinary collaboration, bringing together expertise from academia, industry, water utilities and public authorities. She firmly believes that initiatives like the Italian YWP chapter play a pivotal role in fostering dialogue, collaboration, and innovation among diverse stakeholders in the water sector. Having previously served as the Vice-Chair since the creation of the group, she gained experience and insights into the workings of our network, the opportunities it presents as well as the responsibilities and challenges to be faced in the next years. 

Silvia is a postdoctoral researcher at University of Girona (Spain). She obtained in 2021 a double doctorate in Design, Modeling and Simulation in Engineering (University of Pavia, Italy) and in Water Science and Technology (University of Girona, Spain). Her research focuses on microbial electrochemical technologies (METs) for bioenergy and biofuels production, in particular carbon dioxide capture and conversion into added value products, biogas upgrading and METs integration with nature-based solutions (i.e., microalgae). She has previously served ad External Relations Coordinator for about a year, then switched to Social Media Manager for our network, supporting the various WGs in their activities and creating content for our social accounts and website. She enrolled in the challenge to continue to support the network in the management side as Vice-Chair.

Clean water is a basic human need: how will we ensure its ubiquitous availability? Claudia joined the YWP Italian executive team since April 2021. Since then she has been actively taking part to the decision-making process, and in the last two years she has been leading the Innovation group. Her research interest relies on international research and development projects, focusing on processing sensor data from water source and drinking water production. She received her PhD in Environmental assessment with a specialisation in environmental chemistry in 2021 at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU, Uppsala) and she has been working for the last two years as expert in drinking water treatment and digitalization at the IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute (Stockholm). She enjoys developing Python open source software for non-programmers, and her personal goal is to work on projects with Italy and developing countries to improve water quality. 

Chiara joined YWPIT in 2023 and has been an active member of the External Relations Working Group. With a background in Engineering and Innovation (University of Padua and TU Delft), she is currently Applied Water Strategy & Product Support Lead at Xylem UK, after completing the company’s international leadership program. In her new role, she aims to strengthen partnerships with companies and research institutions, and expand networking and training opportunities within the Italian chapter.

Marco is a PostDoctoral Researcher at the Italian Water Research Institute (IRSA-CNR) with a PhD in Chemical Processes for Industry and Environment (University of Rome “La Sapienza”). In the last year he was a visiting student at the University of Girona (Spain), affiliated with The Laboratory of Chemical and Environmental Engineering (LEQUIA). His research concentrates on Bioelectrochemical Systems and Passive ElectroBioremediation methods for environmental remediaton, with a particular focus on hydrocarbons and chlorinated solvents in water, groundwater, and soil.

Benedetta joined the Committee as Communications Officer after being a member of YWPIT since 2022. With an academic background in public policy, climate, and environmental governance from universities in London, Amsterdam, and Bologna, she entered the water sector through her work with the International Water Association. Today, she works as a Senior Water Advisor at the Embassy of Denmark in Rome, fostering dialogue between Italy and Denmark to share knowledge, technologies, and best practices in water management.

Carolina is a recent addition to the YWPIT network since May 2025 and joins the Steering Committee as our new Social Media Manager. With a background in Environmental Engineering from Politecnico di Milano and TU Delft, she is a drinking water treatment specialist. She is currently working on a research project for the sustainable removal of heavy metals from groundwater using biologically enhanced sand filters, and collaborates on a European database of filtration methods with Danish researchers.

Barbara is a fresh Food Engineering graduate from Politecnico di Milano. Her works focused on waste water treatment. In particular, she is involved with PFAS removal from process water using AOPs for which she is taking part in two different EU promoted LIFE programs. Barbara is currently doing a stage as process engineer in a water treatment company and her goal is to deliver safe and clean water to the people.

Vincenzo is currently working as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Galway in Ireland, contributing to cutting-edge research in the water sector. He has a PhD from the University of Cassino and Southern Lazio (Italy), where he graduated as Environmental Engineer. Vincenzo is a nature- and music-enthusiast, with a strong inclination to learning, exploring, and bonding with people, exchanging points of view and looking for new and unknown directions.

Caterina is an Environmental Engineer originally specialized in water. Following a Master's program at the University for Peace in Costa Rica, she developed a keen interest in exploring the complex relationship between water, society, and peace. Currently, she is a scientific project officer at the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission, where she supports citizen scientists in water quality monitoring through as part of "The Gems of Water" project. Recently, she embarked on a parallel journey to pursue a PhD at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, where she investigates citizen science applicability of pesticides monitoring techniques in surface waters. 

Pamela Ciacia is an industrial and environmental biotechnologist.

She studied at Sapienza University of Rome and worked at IRSA-CNR during her thesis, where she developed a bioelectrochemical reactor to remove toluene and chloroform from contaminated groundwater.  Following her thesis, she further deepened her environmental microbiology skills abroad at SDU (University of Southern Denmark). Currently, she is employed at an environmental consulting firm as an technical consultant in water and soil remediation.