ISDA National President Basil Russo and VP John Viola were presented with the inaugural “Reputation Award” at the Italian Cultural Institute of NYC (Istituto Italiano di Cultura di New York) by Davide Ippolito, a celebrated publisher, filmmaker and producer. At the ceremony, Russo and Viola were honored for creating the Italian American Future Lead...

Among the really interesting topics contained in the weekend of the second annual meeting of the Italian American Future Leaders, which I attended as a mentor last January, was one that caught me a little unprepared. Two friends, two young women who divide their lives between Italy and the United States, two lawyers who are members of the National...

In January of 2023, more than 100 young, active Italian Americans between the ages of 21 and 35, gathered together in Sunrise, Florida for our inaugural Italian American Future Leaders Conference.  This year, we set out to live up to the incredible success that was the first IAFL, and the reviews are in and it looks like we exceeded all expectation...

Within the Italian-American community, there is an ever-present concern that younger generations simply aren’t interested in their Italian heritage, a sentiment echoed among the older generation like a haunting refrain. The question, “How do we engage the youth” has been asked time and again, but until now, no one ever cared to answer it. Last Janu...

What do YOU use to answer the question on race and ethnicity on the U.S. Census? The Federal Government has recently undertaken a reexamination of the “Federal Standards on Racial and Ethnic Data Collection”, and as a part of that process, they have invited communities across the nation to weigh in on how they are counted.   To some in our communit...

Italian American Future Leaders (IAFL), an influential fellowship and networking platform that's empowering and engaging younger generations (ages 21 – 35), held its 2nd national conference, "IAFL2," at Amerant Bank Arena.  The latest conference was comprised of nearly 200 fellows (first-time attendees), alumni (returning attendees), mentors and pr...

Italian American Future Leaders, a fellowship and networking platform that's empowering and engaging younger generations (ages 21 – 35), held its' 2nd annual conference, "IAFL2," this past weekend at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, FL.  The latest conference was comprised of fellows (first-time attendees), alumni (returning attendees), mentors and p...

Dear friends, What a January! Divided between Italy, Florida and California, our January has been full of beautiful things and people. First, the new yearbook of We the Italians is available, with the 23 interviews (in Italian and English) published during 2022. You can find a preview and buy a copy here. In 2023, we interviewed 20 people, friends...

Italian American organizations from around the country are heeding the call championed by COPOMIAO President Basil M. Russo: by uniting together, the Conference of Presidents, in part, commands the respect and international recognition that's oftentimes impossible to achieve on an individual basis. In the past two years alone, COPOMIAO leaders have...