The National Organization of Italian American Women is pleased to announce three new members of the Distinguished Board.

Margaret I. Cuomo, M.D.; Katherine LaGuardia, M.D., M.P.H.; and Regina S. Peruggi, MBA, Ed.D. have demonstrated impressive leadership in a range of industries and commitment to bettering their communities.

They join a group of Italian American leaders on NOIAW’s Distinguished Board with a vast range of accomplishments.

Margaret I. Cuomo, M.D.

Margaret I. Cuomo, M.D. is a board certified radiologist who served as an attending physician in Diagnostic Radiology at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, New York, for many years. Dr. Cuomo completed a fellowship in CT, Ultrasound and MRI imaging, and combined clinical diagnostic radiology with the teaching and training of medical students and fellows from Cornell University Medical College and other medical schools.

Dr. Cuomo is the author of A World Without Cancer: The Making of a New Cure and the Real Promise of Prevention,” published by Rodale in 2012. She speaks nationally on disease prevention and works at the state and national level to effect health policy change. She is the creator and host of the first TV one-hour special program on cancer prevention, entitled, “A World Without Cancer,” produced by the Public Broadcasting Service, PBS. The program will air nationally beginning in June, 2016.

As a member of Next Generation Choices Foundation/ The Less Cancer Campaign, and the New York State Health Foundation, Dr. Cuomo educates the public and raises their awareness regarding the need to prevent cancer and other diseases. She is the co-host of National Cancer Prevention Day, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., and produces and moderates the annual panel discussion. Dr. Cuomo advocates for cancer prevention through her interactions with policymakers and legislators.

As a result of her interest in the arts and humanities, Dr. Cuomo has dedicated herself to the teaching of languages other than English in American schools, K-12. She serves as President of the Italian Language Foundation, Inc., and is a member of Princeton University’s Advisory Council for the Department of French and Italian and of the National Advisory Council of Concordia Language Villages. In an effort to promote arts education in American schools, Dr. Cuomo served on the board and as chairperson of the National Dance Institute, and as a member of the benefit committee of the American Ballet Theater. She has encouraged a love for music and in particular, opera, to young children through the Metropolitan Opera Company’s art education program. Dr. Cuomo is an honoree of the Association of Italian American Educators (2003, 2005) and the National Organization of Italian American Women (2004). In 2011, She was also awarded “Commendatore dell’Ordine della Stella della Solidarietà Italiana,” the “Order of the Star of Italian Solidarity,” by Giorgio Napolitano, president of Italy in 2014.

She has been interviewed on many TV shows, such as Good Morning America, Good Day New York, Morning Joe, Inside Edition, and national and regional radio programs, and has been featured in many magazines and newspapers, including Better Homes and Gardens, Education Update, Family Circle, Glamour, InStyle, Manhattan, Metro Newspapers, Networking, New York Daily News, O Magazine, Parade, People, Prevention, Redbook, Vogue and Women’s Day, and on-line sites (DoctorOz.com, Glamour.com, DailyBeast.com, Prevention.com, BlackstoneAudio.com, ASCOPost.com, EverydayHealth.com, RodaleNews.com). Dr. Cuomo is a contributor and a member of the Medical Review Board of the Huffington Post, and has contributed to WebMD.

Dr. Cuomo graduated Summa cum laude from St. John’s University with a Bachelor of Science degree, and received her Doctor of Medicine degree from Downstate Medical Center. She completed her residency in radiology and her fellowship in CT, Ultrasound and MRI from North Shore University Hospital, Manhasset, New York. She is the author of several scientific papers and has presented at national and local conferences. She is the daughter of the late New York Governor Mario Cuomo and Mrs. Matilda Cuomo, sister to Governor Andrew Cuomo and CNN’s Chris Cuomo. Margaret I. Cuomo is married to Howard Maier, and they reside in New York.

Katherine LaGuardia, M.D.

Dr. Katherine LaGuardia is an Obstetrician/Gynecologist and Public Health physician with over 25 years of experience in the field of reproductive care and research, technology innovation, and non-profit program development, both domestic and international.

As Chair of the Fiorello LaGuardia Foundation (www.laguardiafoundation.org), and previously with the Rockefeller Foundation, she has been engaged with issues of poverty alleviation, reproductive health, and sustainable development for much of her career. Her work in international health began in 1987, after receiving dual training in Ob/Gyn and Preventive Medicine at The New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center and her MPH from Columbia University. She and her husband, with their newborn baby, were sent to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil by The Rockefeller Foundation, where she studied causes of maternal mortality in the municipal hospital system. Thus began a lifelong love affair with Brazil and global health issues. Upon her return to New York in 1989, she joined the Rockefeller Foundation as a Research Scientist. Into the next decade, Dr. LaGuardia travelled through Africa and Latin America on behalf of the foundation to develop programs in reproductive health with a focus on contraceptive development and HIV prevention.

As Director of Women’s Health at Cornell (1989-96), Dr. LaGuardia organized clinical research programs to respond to issues facing her patients: a teen pregnancy and parenting program; the first HIV clinic for women; and a women’s and children’s health clinic in Western Queens. Her collaboration with scientists at NIH, Rockefeller University and The Population Council led to her participation in several landmark clinical trials: the prevention of perinatal transmission of HIV; the role of immunosuppression in the development of cervical cancer; and the development of long-acting contraceptives.

From 2001-2010 she served as Director of Clinical Affairs at Ortho McNeil Pharmaceuticals where she launched two major contraceptives, co-authored several patents, and over 70 publications. She is considered an expert in hormonal contraceptive safety and development, providing expert opinions on  regulatory and product liability issues.

Her work with the LaGuardia Foundation, founded in 2001, has been inspired by her grandfather, Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia, who served as Director General of UNRRA from 1945-7. In this capacity he used his extensive domestic and international experience to dispurse billions of dollars of food aid to post-War Europe and Asia. Italy was one of the beneficiaries of this aid and today the foundation partners with the Italian government, UN agencies, and private foundations to promote sustainable development, with a focus on south-south collaboration to foster the use of clean energy.

In 2014, Dr. LaGuardia joined the de Blasio administration as a Special Advisor at the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. She is a member of the Advisory Board of the Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimo of NYU, a Commissioner with the Women’s Refugee Commission, a member of Community Board 8 in Manhattan, and a Clinical Assistant Professor of Ob/Gyn at The Mount Sinai School of Medicine. Dr. LaGuardia lives in Manhattan with her husband, Patrick J. D’Addario.

Regina S. Peruggi, MBA, Ed.D.

Respected as an experienced and creative leader in higher education, Regina S. Peruggi is recently retired after nine years as President of Kingsborough Community College, the City University of New York. During her tenure as President, Dr. Peruggi, instituted a strategic planning process, expanded an innovative Learning Communities model, developed the KCC Workforce and Economic Development Center, created new academic programs, engaged its alumni in college advancement efforts, and re-energized faculty development programs. Prior to her retirement, in 2013, Kingsborough was recognized by the Aspen Institute Community College Excellence Program as one of the top four community colleges in the country.

Before her Kingsborough appointment, Dr. Peruggi served for three years as President of the Central Park Conservancy, a private, not-for-profit organization that manages Central Park. Through private donations from individuals, foundations, and corporations, the Conservancy over the past 25 years has raised close to $300 million to restore and maintain the park.

From 1990 to 2001, Dr. Peruggi was President of Marymount Manhattan College, a liberal arts institution with strong programs in the fine and performing arts. Under her leadership, the College’s enrollment doubled, academic programs thrived, the budget was balanced, and the school’s first dormitory was built.

A native New Yorker, Dr. Peruggi began her professional career as a drug abuse counselor in New York City. She has taught at the elementary, college and graduate levels, and has coordinated continuing education programs for psychiatrists, social workers and other mental health professionals. In 1974 she joined The City University of New York at York College, where she developed and directed the York College Community Learning Center.

In 1984, Dr. Peruggi moved to the Office of Academic Affairs of the City University of New York and in 1986 assumed the position of University Associate Dean for Adult and Continuing Education. As Associate Dean, she expanded literacy programs for adults, initiated programs for the University with business, industry and major labor unions, and was responsible for starting several special faculty development projects.

Dr. Peruggi is a principal in the consulting firm, NEXT Transition Associates, the Chairperson of the Board of the Havens Relief Fund Society, and Chairperson Emerita of the Women’s Refugee Commission. She serves as a Director on the Boards of Good Shepherd Services, The Caroll and Milton Petrie Foundation, the Silver Shield Foundation and the Silvercrest Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation.

Dr. Peruggi earned her B.A. in Sociology from the College of New Rochelle, her MBA from New York University, and her Ed.D. from Columbia University’s Teachers College.

NOIAW Distinguished Board