Our Team

Antonia Arslan was a professor of Italian literature at the University of Padova and is the author of groundbreaking studies in nineteenth century Italian literature (Dame, droga e galline. Il romanzo popolare italiano fra Ottocento e Novecento; Dame, galline e regine. La scrittura femminile italiana fra '800 e '900). After translating the poetry of the Armenian Daniel Varujan (who was butchered during the Genocide), she began to focus on her Armenian heritage. She has written and edited scores of books and articles on the topic. 

She published her first novel, La masseria delle allodole, in 2004. It has been translated into 25 languages. She followed it up with La Strada di Smirne (2009), Il libro di Mush (2012) (translated as Silent Angel), Il rumore delle perle di legno (2015), Lettera ad una ragazza in Turchia (2016), Il destino di Aghavni (2022). 

Antonia Arslan holds columns in several Italian journals and newspapers. Several series of these columns were published: Il cortile dei girasoli parlanti (2011); Il calendario dell’Avvento (2013); Il nuovo calendario dell’Avvento (2014). 

She appears regularly on Italian television. And is beloved by the Italian people. In 2009 Antonia nearly died.She chronicled her survival in Ishtar 2. Cronache dal mio risveglio (2010).

For more information see: www.antoniarslan.it

Siobhan Nash-Marshall is a Professor of Philosophy and the Mary T. Clark Chair of Christian Philosophy at Manhattanville College in New York. A prolific author, her latest publications include George (2022), that has been translated into Italian, The Sins of the Fathers: Turkish Denialism and the Armenian Genocide (2018), that has been translated into Italian and Armenian. She publishes regularly in Luoghi dell’infinito, the Imaginative Conservative, and elsewhere. Prof. Nash-Marshall enjoys lecturing and does so often. Her favorite animal is the human being. She set up CINF USA (https://cinfusa.org/) to protect that vilified species abroad. She also founded MIETA (https://ethics-institute.org) in order to foster ethical and logical teaching in US high school students. What drives Professor Nash-Marshall is the realization that symphilosophein – reflecting and reasoning together on the truth and attempting to live in accordance with it – is on the verge of extinction and that to keep the art alive it does not suffice to read Aquinas in Latin or the Masoretic Text in Hebrew. Rather, one must focus on education. Like Our Lord who went to the people to be their Rabbi, the Catholic scholar must on His behalf, and on behalf of the Mater et Magistra, protect and teach the youth. 

Stephanie Havens is also a former student of Professor Nash-Marshall and an alumna of the Manhattanville Philosophy Department. After earning her BA, she continued to work and informally study under Dr. Nash-Marshall as Executive Director of CINF. Since joining CINF in 2017, Stephanie has primarily seen to the growth and success of CINF’s educational programs in Nagorno Karabakh. She has personally lived and taught in Karabakh for three summers, working with more than 300 students of all ages and backgrounds in the summer of 2019. She is now excited to develop similar programs for her peers in America.

Stephanie loves teaching and aims to become a high school teacher or professor. Having experienced the failings of academia first-hand, she is dedicated to the revitalization of the American education system. She is particularly skilled at coordinating students and alumni to help with Department activities.

Jesse Juarez is a former student of Professor Nash-Marshall’s and an alumnus of the Manhattanville Philosophy Department. After earning his BA, Jesse was hired by the College to organize the first Manhattanville Ethics Bowl in 2016. He returned to become the official Ethics Bowl Coordinator at Manhattanville College in 2019. Though the Ethics Bowl is his primary project, Jesse also closely coordinates with students and alumni. He partners regularly with the Manhattanville College Philosophy Club to organize extracurricular meetings to discuss ethics and philosophy. 

Also, a licensed coach, Jesse has experience working in the NYS education system, children aged 8 to 17 years. His love for ethics is evident even on the field where he makes it part of his training programs. Jesse is ambitious, an excellent organizer, and well-loved by just about every Department student and alumnus.