Marni grew up in New York / New Jersey and has always been fascinated by the inner workings of the brain. She has a PhD in neuroscience (with a focus in psychoneuroimmunology) from Emory University in Atlanta, GA and moved to Maryland in 2006 to pursue a postdoctoral fellowship at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). After working many years as a research scientist, she currently volunteers as a scientific consultant and patient advocate to improve the health, function, and quality of life of those living with complex, chronic illness.

Marni started dancing social Argentine tango in 2000 during graduate school and was immediately drawn to the deep connection of its close embrace and sense of community. She met her now husband at a tango workshop in DC soon after moving to the DMV area and they continue to share their passion for tango locally, throughout the US, and abroad. Marni joined the Tango Mercurio Board in October 2024. She looks forward to sharing the dance, music, and culture of Argentine tango as a means of community service and spreading the joy it brings.

Marni loves how studying tango is a lifelong journey that is always evolving – one of constant curiosity, discovery, and growth in connecting with oneself and others. In its essence, tango is a music-inspired traveling hug; she believes the world would be a better place if everyone hugged more.

During the day, Natalie works as the Chief of Evaluation at the Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA), where she directs a team of specialists (read: data nerds) to monitor and evaluate ECA’s educational and exchange programming. At night, Natalie loves to go down to the basement to her tango studio to blast Pugliese and dance (by herself, naturally; like the true introvert that she is). Natalie joined the Tango Mercurio Board in May 2024 to both give back to the community she loves and to meet more DC tangueros.

Some fun facts about Nat: In addition to dancing tango, she loves to travel. Natalie has visited nearly 60 countries and adds to that list on a yearly basis. She is a proud Columbus Ohio native and bleeds scarlet and gray (Go Bucks!). Pugliese is her favorite orchestra (she particularly loves when Jorge Maciel is on the mic). She loves animals and currently has a cat named Athena and a rabbit named Moo (you can follow him on Instagram: @moodonahue).. though she's a sucker for a stray so there may be more pets in the house by the time you read this.

A French native, Celine is trained as an engineer and economist. She worked in the French Ministry of Finances and the International Monetary Fund for 25 years. She recently retired and can now devote much more time to her long-time passion, tango.

Celine was first exposed to tango in Paris in 1999. When she moved to the U.S. two years later, she was increasingly drawn to the “close embrace” version of tango after taking classes with Susana Miller and Brigitta Winkler, among other milongero teachers. She loves the connection and musicality in the dance, and the unique non-verbal communication it opens up. She has traveled and continues to travel within the U.S., to Europe and Buenos Aires to meet new tango friends, and has occasionally taught with her husband and partner. Celine joined the Tango Mercurio board in October 2023 and is excited for the opportunity to expand the interest in Argentine tango within the DMV community.

Jonathan grew up in Goa, a cozy state on the south-western coast of India, known for its food, music, and laid-back “susegad” lifestyle. He holds a Master of Science in Mathematics from the Indian Institute of Science and a Doctorate in Mathematics from the University of Maryland, where he teaches mathematics and statistics. When not teaching, he is active in tango, guitar, cycling and martial arts ( jujutsu).

Keenly interested in building communities, Jonathan previously served as Treasurer and Festival Coordinator of the Argentine Tango Club at the University of Maryland. He has been part of the DC tango community for a decade and played guitar in the Tango Mercurio Community Orchestra.

Jonathan joined the Tango Mercurio Board in 2022 to help grow the tango community, and has often volunteered as an event host, instructor and DJ, in addition to his other activities for the organization.

A native of Egypt, Mona holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Cairo University in Egypt, a Certified Public Accountant license in Virginia, and a Master of Business Administration from Kellogg School of Management in Evanston, Illinois. She has extensive experience as a finance and general business strategy executive at multinational organizations such as PwC, KPMG, and McKinsey & Company, AES, Inc, and Mars Inc. Mona’s love of sports and dancing started in elementary school in her hometown of Cairo, Egypt. She performed Egyptian folk dancing at school events and played handball, turning professional at 16 as a member of the Egyptian National women’s team through college. Her love of Argentine tango started on a business trip to Buenos Aires, Argentina in 2013. After attending a tango show, she simply fell in love with the dance and music and knew that tango is her newfound passion. Upon returning to the U.S., she started her first tango class with Tango Mercurio and has been a Tango Mercurio student ever since. Mona joined the Board in April 2022.

Dan is a lifelong, third-generation resident of the Washington area. He first stepped into dance as a college student in Asheville, North Carolina, where authentic bluegrass and old-time music rang from the hills. He also began grassroots organizing, launching community-based environmental monitoring and small business incubators, and introducing recycling to the growing city.

He earned his Master’s Degree in Marketing at West Virginia University and returned to DC to work in communications, research and planning for organizations such as The Nature Conservancy and American Rivers, and companies such as Marriott International, Hershey’s, AT&T and IBM.

Dan’s days in Asheville imparted a love of dance and the connections with others he made through it. Seeking these in DC, he tried salsa and swing before finding his home in tango. Since his first classes in 2007, he has been an active member of our community, attending milongas and classes with the many great maestros who have contributed to the DC tango scene, and exploring instruction in Tango Mercurio’s teacher training course in 2017. Dan is looking forward to opportunities to further grow and strengthen our community through his work on the Board.

A native of Quebec, Canada, Flora holds a B.A. in Literature and a law degree from McGill University. After graduating, she clerked at the Federal Court of Appeal of Canada, then pursued a career at the National Judicial Institute, where she designed continuing education programs for judges from various levels of courts across Canada. In 2014, Flora moved to Vietnam, her father’s country of origin, and worked for the multinational law firm Baker McKenzie. She relocated to Washington, DC in 2017, and currently works in compliance for the education technology company 2U. Flora discovered tango dancing in 2009 in Montreal, Canada. A classically trained violinist, she joined the Tango Mercurio Community Orchestra as third violin in 2017 and became Chair of the Board in 2018.