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# 70 •OCTOBER 19 , 2015
versary of Italy’s Unification in Rome.
The delegation was recognized by the
President of the Italian Republic, Giorgio Napolitano, and the unprecedented invitation made clear the mutual
respect shared between the government of the Republic of Italy and the
National Italian American Foundation.
Succeeding Del Raso as NIAF president was then-NIAF Chief Operating
O.cer John M. Viola, the first president
in NIAF’s history who was not elected
from the Board of Directors. Turning
30 that year, Viola brought new strategies to the Foundation; and by
electing him president, NIAF redediLeading that delegation in Rome was cated itself to developing a new genethen-NIAF President Joseph V. Del ration of community leadership.
Raso, who been a leading voice on the
Board for making NIAF “more of an In 2013, in one of the most important
international organization.” When he partnerships in NIAF’s recent history,
was elected NIAF chairman two years the Foundation became the only Italater, Del Raso continued to guide the lian American organization to be an
Foundation in working with business official partner of the PBS documenand political leaders to solidify and tary series, “The Italian Americans,”
expand cultural and economic ties to directed by John Maggio. This histoItaly, making sure that future genera- ric, four-hour film aired to unprecetions of integrated Italian Americans dented ratings in February, 2015, and
could always return to the source of has been unanimously lauded as one
of the most important, even-handed,
their heritage.
and accessible tellings of the story of
Joseph Del Raso Italians in America.
In 2014, in an effort to address new
challenges with new structures, NIAF
began to restructure its long-standing
grants program to o.er more substantial funding for projects of importance to the Italian American community.
To that end, NIAF was able to present
the The NIAF-Pellegri Grant in Roman
Studies to the University of Maryland
in 2014. The $500,000 program represents the largest single educational
gift in the Foundation’s history, and
th is new approach will be repeated
in 2016 as NIAF prepares for a new
$500,000 grant in partnership with
WE THE ITALIANS | 37
www.wetheitalians.com