Erika is a native Italian speaker. After obtaining her master’s degree in teaching Italian as a second language from the University of Paris VIII, she completed a specialised course in teaching Italian to secondary school students (CAPS) at the University of Sorbonne. She went on to become a teacher in a public secondary school in France for five years. In Dublin, she has worked in various schools including the Sandford Institute and the Italian Institute of Culture and has also worked for the Department of Foreign Affairs.