Ida Como is an attorney who was born and raised in Brooklyn by her Italian parents, who both immigrated to New York from Italy in the late 1960’s. Her parents instilled in her the hard-working and driven characteristics she displays proudly today. Ida is an alumna of St. John’s University and Hofstra University School of Law. She graduated from Hofstra Law in 2010 and is admitted to both the NY and NJ Bars. In 2014, Ida joined in co-founding Silvagni and Como, Attorneys at Law, PLLC. Her practice is primarily based in Elder Law, Estate Planning and Estate Administration/Litigation. She has helped numerous clients to execute specialized and complex Estate Plans. Ida aspires to treat each of the families she works with as if they were her own and uses her language skills to relate to Italian and Spanish speaking families. Ida is currently the Corresponding Secretary on the Board of Directors for the Columbian Lawyers Association of Queens and is a member of both the Columbian Lawyers of Brooklyn and 1st Department in NY. She is very active in many Italian American cultural and societal events. Connect with Ida at Silvagni and Como.

Carla Gambescia, marketer, entrepreneur and author, is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton School of Finance. She began her career in advertising, then founded Phoenix Concepts & Design in 1990, a marketing consultancy specializing in brand identity and custom research.  “I am passionate about all things Italian, so naturally  I am also a foodie.” Carla owned and operated Via Vanti! Restaurant & Gelateria, located in the landmark Mount Kisco Train Station, for nearly a decade and has most recently written a book: La Dolce Vita University — An Unconventional Guide to Italian Culture from A-Z  which is expected to be published in 2017. Connect with Carla at Phoenix Concepts Design.

Laquita Evangeline Garbarino is the owner/operator of Garbarino Gardens & Board Secretary for Ten Rivers Food Web. She is the great-granddaughter of Italian immigrants from Genova who worked as market gardeners in California after coming to the United States, and is an alternative/organic farmer and market gardener. She sits on the Board Secretary for Ten Rivers Food Web. Her specific areas of interest are empowering minority and low-income families to improve their health through eating locally produced, whole and cultural foods. You can connect with her at Ten Rivers Food.

Rebecca Hall is the CEO of RBH Global Wealth Partners,  A Private Wealth Advisory firm of Ameriprise Financial which she started in 1996. Rebecca earned both a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Economics from the University of Delaware, and holds numerous professional designations in Financial Planning and Investment management. Rebecca works with high net worth families, foreign nationals residing in the US, and employees of international organizations to help them understand the short and long term implications of financial decisions they make.  She and her team encourage clients to live for today while planning for their future.  Rebecca is a second generation Italian American, born in New York, who now lives in the DC metro Area with her husband and children. You can connect with Rebecca on LinkedIn  or visit her website.

Maria Kehrli grew up in the Washington DC Metro Area, and now attends High Point University to pursue a BSBA in  International Business with a concentration in Italian, as well as a minor in Economics and in Italian studies. When Maria is not in class, she is very involved on campus. Maria is an academic tutor for Italian, a First Year Navigator for incoming students, the secretary of the Italian Club, and a Senator in the Student Government Association. All of Maria’s maternal family is from Sicily. She has a passion for all things Italy and hopes to enhance her language skills by continuing language classes and spending time in Italy. She is looking for a job/internship that will be able to put her passion to use. Maria loves to travel and is looking for an opportunity to live and/or work  in Italy. You can connect with Maria on LinkedIn.

Elizabeth Mariani (she/her) is an internationally published poet, spoken word performance artist, teaching artist, youth gratitude and mindfulness educator, photographer, artist, event coordinator and community volunteer. Born and raised in the Greater Buffalo, New York area, she boasts proudly of Italian-Canadian and Italian-American heritage. Currently based out of Vermont, she also identifies proudly as Queer and Jewish. Elizabeth credits Italian-American culture in exemplifying an instinctual generosity and believes poetry would not have risen if not for never-ending storytelling sessions at the table with her Mariani family.  While living in Buffalo, NY, she was active in the movement for marriage equality and was extremely proud to see Italian-Americans among the deciding votes for marriage equality in NY State​​ prior to the Supreme Court ruling in June of 2015.​​ Photographs of her great grandmother and grandmother feeding striking steelworkers in Hamilton, Ontario in the 1940’s were featured in the book, All That Our Hands Have Done (1981) . You can contact Elizabeth for collaborations, bookings, teaching artist workshops via her website. Make sure to sign up for a subscription to her blog and put a Google Alert out for this versatile poet.

Elissa Stagliano is a senior marketing major at Providence College. From a young age she has always danced and continues to stay active in Providence’s Dance Club. She has also been interested in travel and different cultures. Last spring semester she was able to study abroad in Florence, Italy. While there, she had the chance to travel to a number of different places and fulfill her goal of traveling to 21 countries in 21 years! This unique opportunity allowed her to study the Italian language and learn from foreign professors. This semester she will be interning in the marketing department at Collette, a guided travel agency, which goes along with her love of travel! In the future she hopes to work for a company that markets consumer products. Feel free to connect with her on LinkedIn.

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