A native of Minnesota, Italo has called Florida his permanent home for nearly 30 years. His family is spread out across the United States in Florida, California, Hawai’i, Wisconsin, and Tennessee. Italo writes, reads, and speaks Spanish, and has traveled abroad to Peru and Israel.
Italo spent his young adult years at the University of California at Davis (www.ucdavis.edu), majoring in Political Science with a minor in Environmental Policy Analysis. After working as a paralegal for two large California law firms for four years, Italo moved to Gainesville in 2004 to begin graduate study at the University of Florida. There he subsequently earned two Master of Science degrees in 2005 and 2008, in Interdisciplinary Ecology, and Soil & Water Science, respectively.
Italo is an active member of the UF Wetlands Club since 2004, as well as sener other Florida environmental-awareness organizations. In his spare time, Italo enjoys traveling, hiking, camping, kayaking, cycling, and healthy cooking. He does much of his own car repair, enjoys home improvement projects, and cheers for Gator athletics.