Marylouise Serrato was born and raised in San Francisco, California. After graduating from San Francisco State University, she began a career in communications management working for over ten years for three San Francisco-based advertising agencies: Allen & Dorward & Co, BBD&O and McCann-Erickson. Marylouise was responsible for the management of a variety of consumer goods and services accounts, new product development and test marketing. Prior to moving to Europe, Marylouise traveled regularly to Italy where much of her family still lives. In 1994, she moved to Brussels, Belgium and in 2001 to Geneva, Switzerland. In Geneva, Marylouise worked as a freelance marketing consultant and taught Business language and topics to corporate clients. Marylouise joined ACA in 2002 working as Managing Director and in 2010 became Executive Director. In 2012, ACA moved its headquarters and the office of the Executive Director to Washington, DC where Marylouise has been directing the management and operations of the organization. Marylouise is married with three children, she splits her time between Washington, DC, Italy and Switzerland. Marylouise is fluent in Italian and French.