Mother Tongues' Team
Fernanda Ferrari
Director
Fernanda Ferrari is an award-winning visual storyteller, performer, puppeteer, and filmmaker with over 25 years of experience. She holds a Bachelor’s in Art Performance from UNICAMP, Brazil, and has led cultural projects across Brazil, France, and the UK, using the arts to foster inclusion, well-being, and climate awareness. In Ireland, she has received awards from the Arts Council Ireland, South Dublin County Council, and The Civic Theatre to create innovative works for young audiences. Since 2021, she has collaborated with Mother Tongues and now, as Director, continues to champion diversity, creativity, and social transformation through the arts.
Elena Cristofanon
Operations and Project Management Consultant
Elena Cristofanon is an Italian creative with a growing passion for projects and people management. She oversees the management of all the projects and the marketing of Mother Tongues. Elena has been behind the scenes of Mother Tongues since the very beginning, in 2017, and is extremely proud of its fast growth. With an academic background in Art History and Standards for Education in Museums, she continued her studies in Ireland in the area of Management, Marketing and Web Design.
She has been awarded the Arts Council’s Agility Award to expand the Contatto project on a national scale.
Tony Fegan
Creative Producer
Dublin-born Tony Fegan is a creative producer, theatre director and participatory arts practitioner. Tony established Lift Learning Programme at Lift (London International Festival of Theatre). As Director of Learning (1992 – 2007) he developed a wide-ranging and highly influential learning programme with national and international artists working with youth, community groups, schools and universities on long-term artist collaborations, including site-specific events.
He is a founder member of Project Phakama, an inter-cultural youth arts exchange programme between London, Southern Africa, India and South America. He was a visiting artist in residence at the Glencree Peace and Reconciliation Centre Summer School, Ireland in 2002. He has extensive experience in creating multilingual performances through artist-in-residence projects in intercultural and international settings.
Tony was CEO/Director at Tallaght Community Arts in Dublin from 2007 – 2023. Tony repositioned Tallaght Community Arts as an arts development organisation working closely with communities in Tallaght, across South Dublin County and internationally.
In 2021 Tony spearheading a local resident /arts consortium was awarded an Arts Council of Ireland Creative Places R&D award. In 2022 the consortium was awarded the Arts Council of Ireland Creative Places 3-year award.
Lacie Raymond
Participation & learning coordinator
Lacie Raymond is an educator, researcher and programme coordinator with a background in language teaching and experiential learning. She originally came to Mother Tongues as a parent interested in supporting her family’s multicultural identity in Ireland. Prior to collaborating with the organisation in a more formal capacity, Lacie gained professional and personal experience with community-based initiatives that valorise cultural diversity and promote cross-cultural dialogue. She holds a PhD in Applied Linguistics and Intercultural Studies and has worked across various cultural contexts in Europe, the Middle East and North America.
Paola Invernizzi
Associate Artist
Paola Invernizzi is an Italian visual artist based in Dublin. Having completed her studies in Arts and Health at the Brera Academy of Art in Milan, she has worked in both health and educational contexts, recognising the potential of art in promoting well-being.
In 2020, Invernizzi was awarded the Professional Development Award by the Arts Council of Ireland, and in 2021, she received the Agility Award in arts participation.
Currently, Invernizzi is actively involved in residencies at primary and secondary schools, while also expanding her knowledge and skills in early childhood education through experiences in school settings and collaborations with Mother Tongues.
In the field of Arts and Health, she has begun a collaboration with Waterford Healing Arts, focusing on the psychiatric department. She is also an artist in residence at Tallaght University Hospital and has recently joined the panel of Helium Arts.
Dr Agnieszka Pedrak
Associate Linguist
Dr Agnieszka (Aga) Pedrak is a lecturer in language development and language studies at the Froebel Department of Primary and Early Childhood Education, Maynooth University, Ireland. With nearly 10 years of experience as a teacher and a PhD in Applied Linguistics from Trinity College Dublin, she specialises in childhood bilingualism, heritage/home language maintenance in the context of migration, and language inclusive education. Aga is a mother of three, happily raising her children bilingually, as she believes languages are the keys to who we are.
Inmaculada Gomez Soler
Support Linguist Consultant
Inmaculada Gómez Soler is an Assistant Professor of Spanish Applied Linguistics at the School of Applied Language and Intercultural Studies (SALIS), Dublin City University. She holds a PhD in Linguistics with a specialisation in Second Language Acquisition from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and has extensive experience researching and teaching how additional languages are acquired and taught, and how these processes intersect with identity, particularly in contexts of migration. Her research and teaching span both heritage speaker bilingualism and second language learning, with a particular focus on supporting educators in developing inclusive, evidence-based approaches to working with linguistically diverse learners. Inma is also the mother of a daughter and a son, who she is raising bilingually. This informs her commitment to promoting positive, research-informed understandings of bilingual development among teachers, families, and communities.
Eva Avrina
Support Linguist Consultant
Eva is a linguist and educator specialising in bilingual and multilingual development in early years, primary, and immersion settings. She combines academic research with hands-on classroom practice to support educators and families in linguistically diverse contexts.
She holds a Master’s degree in Applied Linguistics, with her thesis focused on multilingualism, language development, and how children acquire and use multiple languages across home and school environments. Her work centres on practical, evidence-based strategies that support language, identity, and inclusion, and she designs CPD that helps teachers feel confident working with multilingual learners and families.
Eva also brings a lived perspective to her work: her own children are growing up speaking four languages (including Mandarin Chinese), which strongly informs her commitment to realistic, compassionate, and research-informed approaches to multilingual education.
Board of Directors
Tríona Cummins
Chair person
Rajshree Unnithan
Treasurer
Languages have shaped much of Rajshree’s life, from growing up multilingual to learning Japanese and Korean as an adult, alongside connecting with people across cultures through language exchange. By day, she works as a Product Manager, a role where she thrives on bringing people together to solve problems and bring creative ideas to life.
Outside of her professional career, Rajshree is an avid traveller with a passion for exploring new cultures and volunteering in language and education initiatives. From teaching English in rural India to supporting adults in Ireland through language conversation practice, she has witnessed firsthand how language builds confidence and creates a deep sense of belonging.
Rajshree is delighted to support Mother Tongues, driven by the firm belief that every language tells a unique story and deserves to be celebrated.
Sameeah Holland
Secretary
Juley-Ann Collins
Director
An Arts and Project Manager, with over 10 years experience in cultural and production management in a multi- disciplinary national and international context; producing, curating and co-ordinating small to large scale projects, funded through the Arts Council of Ireland and Creative Europe. With a Bachelor of Business, Event Management & PR, MA in Public Advocacy & Activism and a Professional Diploma in Creativity, Innovation and Leadership, memberships include Theatre Forum and Irish Street Arts Circus and Spectacle Network.
Caroline Walters
Director
A Limerick native, Caroline holds an honours degree in Applied Languages, a Postgraduate Diploma in Business Administration and a Masters in Business Management from the University of Limerick. She also holds a Graduate Diploma in Education from Mary Immaculate College in Limerick. Caroline’s love of languages started with Gaeilge from an early age and she now counts German, Spanish and French as languages that are close to her heart! Caroline is passionate about embracing and learning from other cultures and she loves to travel. Caroline currently works as a primary school teacher full time having worked in the business world up until 2012. She and her Spanish husband are raising their young children in a busy bilingual household!
Laya Little
Director
Laya Little is a legal professional with experience in corporate law, corporate governance, and public law research. She has worked across leading legal and governance teams, contributing to transactional, regulatory, and advisory matters while maintaining a strong commitment to pro bono and community-focused work. Her pro bono contributions include supporting survivors of domestic abuse with the National Centre for Domestic Violence and conducting comparative human rights research for the European Disability Forum. Laya holds a degree from the University of Maine undertook Masters work at the University of Georgia, as well as a postgraduate LLB from University College Cork. She is proud to support Mother Tongues’ mission to promote multilingualism and cultural inclusion.
Annie Chow
Director
Annie Chow is Chinese Irish American that brings extensive corporate leadership experience and proven business acumen gained through senior roles within global technology organisations. She has led large-scale transformation initiatives, built high-performing multicultural teams, and driven strategic growth across international markets. A recognised champion for gender equity in the tech industry, Annie has spearheaded programmes supporting women in leadership, mentoring emerging talent and shaping policy to advance representation and inclusion. She resides in Dublin with her husband and two teenage sons.
Vasilena Vasileva
Director
Vasilena is an early years professional with a multi-disciplinary background and a passion for languages and inclusive education. She holds a degree in Montessori Pedagogy and a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics, as well as a Master’s in Early Childhood Education. She is currently working as a Development officer in Dublin City Childcare Committee, where she supports early years services to embed Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in their practice and curriculum development. Alongside her native Bulgarian, she has studied English, German, Turkish, Russian, and Latvian at different times in her life. She hopes to pass this love of languages to her daughter, who is growing up bilingual.
Shauna Marron
Director
Shauna is a Primary School Teacher based in Dublin’s north inner city, working within a highly multicultural and linguistically diverse educational environment.
She holds an MA in Literacy Learning and Literacy Difficulties, an academic focus that cultivated her strong dedication to ensuring children maintain knowledge and fluency in their mother tongue.
Having witnessed the powerful, first-hand impact of the Language Explorers programme, Shauna is committed to supporting the Mother Tongues mission and looks forward to collaborating with fellow board members to celebrate and strategically extend the organisation’s vital work.