Francesca joined PPLI in 2025 as the Primary Manager and she is responsible for leading the development and implementation of primary language projects.

Francesca has worked as an academic in Ireland, the UK, and Italy, holding positions at Trinity College Dublin, the University of Reading, Ulster University, Maynooth University and the University of Bologna. She has experience in leading research projects on bilingualism, language acquisition, and inclusive education, and she has led national and international projects on language learning and family language practices.

She has also worked as the director of Mother Tongues and as a consultant for the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) and Oxford University Press, developing resources to support linguistically inclusive practice. Francesca has a PhD in Child Language Acquisition from Dublin City University, an MPhil in Applied Linguistics from Trinity College Dublin and a BA in Linguistics from Università La Sapienza in Rome.