The District Executive Committee, also known as DEC, is the group of leaders within the Toastmasters organization responsible for overseeing and managing the day-to-day operations of the district. The DEC comprises the District Director, Program Quality Director, Club Growth Director, Public Relations Manager, Administration Manager, Finance Manager, Division Dirctors and Area Directors.
Furthermore, the DEC is responsible for various tasks such as reviewing and approving the District Success Plan, approving the budget, managing the District’s financial operations, realigning clubs’ assignments to Areas and Divisions, and reviewing recommendations or reports from district committees, including the audit committee. In particular, the DEC plays a crucial role in ensuring the smooth functioning of the district by providing leadership and guidance to its members.
Moreover, a smaller group within the DEC is known as the Core Team. Therefore, they are responsible for supporting and assisting the District Director in fulfilling their responsibilities. Finally, the Core Team includes the District Director, Program Quality Director, Club Growth Director, and Administration Manager.
District 109 Board 2024-2025 (Core Team)
Francesca Gammicchia, DTM – District Director
Francesca Gammicchia, DTM has been a dedicated Toastmaster for a decade. She has served the organization as Division Director, Area Director and all the Club roles, multiple times.
She has lived in Germany for 10 years and has a family spread between Romania and Italy. Moreover, Francesca knows the importance of diversity and inclusion in personal growth.
Francesca has received tremendous support, training, & inspiration from this community, and she believes she can give back this support, training, and love to help our district become a lighthouse for clubs in the stormy sea.
Katia Burdet, DTM – Program Quality Director
Katia Burdet has been a dedicated Toastmaster since 2012, starting with Toastmasters Torino. She has served in all key roles across several clubs.
Katia has achieved multiple successes in Toastmasters competitions, including winning the Evaluation Contest and placing second in the Italian Speech Contest at the Division Conference in Athens in 2017.
She holds a degree in Management Engineering, an MBA, and has over 15 years of experience as a Purchasing Manager in international companies. Currently, she is the Head of Purchasing and Supply Chain at SSI-SCHAEFER International, certified in Project Management, and a professional coach since 2023. She has also been a TEDx coach in Torino and Spoleto.
Outside her career and Toastmasters, Katia is a mother of two daughters and enjoys skating and swimming. She is inspired by Don Bosco and believes in the importance of fun for success, echoing Ralph Smedley, the founder of Toastmasters.
Laor Glukhovsky – Club Growth Director
Laor has been a member of Toastmasters since 2019. Laor served as the Area Director of Area B3 (now G4) during 2022-2023. He is a member of Haifa Toastmasters, Modi’in Toastmasters, and Whirlpool Toastmasters (located in Michigan, USA).
Laor is Israeli-American, with roots from the USSR, and as such is fluent in English, Hebrew, and Russian.
He is a professional with vast expertise in commercialization and business planning for high-impact startups entering the European and American markets. As CGD, his mission is to ensure that the District speaks each and every club’s individual (needs-based) language, building and maintaining a strong and valuable District. He believes in teaching and working with all levels in the District with tools that work both for Toastmasters and in the workplace.
Laor holds an MBA with a specialization in Strategy and Business Development. In his free time he organizes swing and blues dancing festivals, as well as performing in the bands in the festivals. When he is truly free, he enjoys skiing and exploring new ideas in all facets of life.
Néstor A. Bartolomei – Public Relations Manager
Néstor is of Puerto Rican-Italian heritage and has lived in the USA for many years. He is currently in Switzerland and is a passionate TM member who holds a BA in Interior Architectural Design and an MBA in Luxury Brand Management.
Néstor began his TM journey in 2016. He serves as President of the Lakeshore Speakers Club, Founder of the 3SClub (Spanish Speaking Swiss Club), and Public Relations Manager for District 109, enhancing communication through initiatives like “Help Line” D109.
Outside of TM, Néstor enjoys hiking, boxing, and caring for bonsai trees. He believes public speaking is like overwatering plants: helpful when balanced, but excessive amounts can cause issues.
Néstor values the importance of collaboration in TM. Let’s join forces and lift each other up on this journey!
Keith Sheldrake, DTM – Finance Manager
“My goal is to see people & teams develop their performance through better self awareness, business awareness and self expression”.
TEDX Politecnico di Torino Coach. Supervisor of speaker selection and Coach for 2 speakers.
Distinguished Toastmaster. Sponsor of 5 clubs. Speechcraft Leader. Past Division Evaluation Champion. Youth Leadership Program coordinator.
Specialties: Finance for Non-financial Managers, Coaching, Verbal Communications, Clear Thinking, International Management, cross border and cultural management, integration of acquisitions, 360 feedbacks, finance, managers that use english as a second language
Matt Podgorski , PI5 – Administration Manager
Languages: EN, DE, PL, ES, FR Profession: Freelance Business Consultant & Project Manager.
Toastmasters Malta since 2017, Matt has served as Club’s President (2019 – 2020) when he doubled membership to 42 in 2020. Building a New website with prospect’s tracking system and Social Media Automation. As Vice President of Education (2018 – 2019) he has supported the Integration of Malta as region into District D109.
Margherita Brodbeck Roth, DTM – Immediate Past District Director
Margherita holds an MSc UZH in geography, political sciences and history and an MBA. She works as a data quality program manager and is fluent in five languages. A Toastmaster since 2016, she has served as Area Director, Club President, VPE, VPM, VPPR, Secretary and SAA, and as a mentor and trainer. In conclusion, Margherita loves travelling around the world virtually and, time permitting, in person to experience the many vibrant and diverse Toastmasters communities.
Additional District Roles: Extended core team members
| DD Executive Secretary | Yoko Owatari |
| District Parliamentarian | Manasseh Katz |
| Credential Chair | Burcu Ünal Erdoğan |
| Alignment Committee Chair | Bill Vardas |
| DLC Chair | Margherita Brodbeck Roth, DTM |
| District IT Manager | Harry Loots |
| EasySpeak Support | Lilly Gundacker |
THE DIVISION AND AREA DIRECTORS
Division A
| First Name | Last Name | Position | Area |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joseph | Galea | Division Director | Division A |
| Lucy | Luparelli | Area Director | Area A1 |
| Grete Merlyn | Kaljumäe | Area Director | Area A2 |
| Roberto | Santoro | Area Director | Area A3 |
| Domenico | Menegazzi | Area Director | Area A4 |
| Marco | Albasio | Area Director | Area A5 |
| Raffaele | Cataletti | Area Director | Area A6 |
| Roderick | Grech | Area Director | Area A7 |
Division C
| First Name | Last Name | Position | Area |
|---|---|---|---|
| Penny | Wilkie | Division Director | Division C |
| Laurent | Ecochard | Area Director | Area C1 |
| Harshita | Mistry | Area Director | Area C2 |
| Aurelie | Guillemain | Area Director | Area C3 |
Division D
| First Name | Last Name | Position | Area |
|---|---|---|---|
| Damien | Gautier | Division Director | Division D |
| Ramin | Kaweh | Area Director | Area D1 |
| Pietro | Ferrario | Area Director | Area D2 |
| Emmanuel | Jacob | Area Director | Area D3 |
Division E
| First Name | Last Name | Position | Area |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aline | Schillig | Division Director | Division E |
| Nancy | Grau | Area Director | Area E1 |
| Gabriel | Dunkel | Area Director | Area E2 |
| Frank Robert | Kaiser | Area Director | Area E3 |
| Helena Catarina | Palma da Neta | Area Director | Area E4 |
| Patricia | Mansencal | Area Director | Area E5 |
Division F
| First Name | Last Name | Position | Area |
|---|---|---|---|
| Petra | Salmutter | Division Director | Division F |
| Valentina | Mileto | Area Director | Area F1 |
| Pascal | Dricot | Area Director | Area F2 |
| Heinz | Knes | Area Director | Area F3 |
Division G
| First Name | Last Name | Position | Area |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anastasia | Salichou | Division Director | Division G |
| Nadina | Colova | Area Director | Area G1 |
| Jana | Poliacikova | Area Director | Area G2 |
| Liezel | Yeratziotis | Area Director | Area G3 |
| Stephanie | Kable | Area Director | Area G4 |
| Katerina | Ioannidou | Area Director | Area G5 |
Division H
| First Name | Last Name | Position | Area |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hasan | Yaşar | Division Director | Division H |
| Ahmed | Dabbagh | Area Director | Area H1 |
| Meltem | Şahin | Area Director | Area H2 |
| Ufuk | Aktaş | Area Director | Area H3 |