Formerly a communications professional, she has been working in the non-profit sector since 2002. Her experience includes assignments with the European Union in Brussels and former social-democratic political party The Democrats of the Left in Italy. In 2006 she relocated to New York working as a correspondent and photographer for the Italian magazine Acqua a Sapone. Manuela later studied filmmaking and started working on several film projects, including her own short film A Journey to Homeland. In 2011 she joined One Day on Earth, a worldwide media project documenting what happens on the planet over a 24-hour period. A member a New York Women in Film and Television, Manuela holds a BA in History and a BA in Political Science from La Sapienza University of Rome.