Ariell Kirylo, Neighbor

Ariell Kirylo, the Bare Naked Critic, was born in the U.S. to a Jewish mother and a Euro-inspired father, Ariell moved to the island of Sardegna, Italy where she learned to eat marmalade filled croissants and drink latte macchiato for breakfast at age 5. At 10 she learned to cook skillfully by watching her stepmother boil octopus and dice up the holy trinity.

Ariell went to the American Overseas School of Rome where she excelled in photojournalism and graduated at 17. In the school cafeteria, Ariell was served gnocchi and strachetti con rughetta, unlike her American friends back home who were either anorexic or eating cookies for lunch.

She received her B.A. in English Literature from John Cabot University in Rome. There she weaved through traffic on a scooter, haggled produce at open air markets and learned to make Carbonara like the old ladies in her building.

Ariell returned to the U.S. in 2006, but only after Italy won their fourth World Cup. As an account executive at Sunstar Strategic, she received her M.A. of Secondary Education from Marymount University in Arlington, VA in 2009.

Ariell soon left the corporate world for the excitement of the classroom, and taught English to high school students at West Potomac High School in Fairfax County. In 2010, she left her teaching position and launched non-profit IMA Generation, whose mission is to bring global education to underserved children.

Still hungry for more, Ariell became Editor of a popular food blog in Washington D.C., where she wrote restaurant reviews and created the Eat Me DC chef profile. Now known as the Bare Naked Critic, she spends her days editing interviews and making reservations for her next critique. When not debating the difference between pink and black salt, she is contemplating how to revolutionize the restaurant industry.