FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:   Elissa Ruffino (NIAF) 202/939-3106 or elissa@niaf.org

**Former Senator Alfonse D’Amato to Present Award**

(WASHINGTON, D.C. – October 11, 2011) Hon. Capri Cafaro, minority leader of the Ohio Senate, will be honored at the National Italian American Foundation’s (NIAF) 36th Anniversary Awards Gala in Washington, D.C. Former Senator Alfonse D’Amato from New York City will present Senator Cafaro with the NIAF Youth Leadership Award on October 29, 2011, at the Washington Hilton. The gala begins with a 6 p.m. reception followed by dinner and an awards ceremony.

The President of Italy Hon. Giorgio Napoitano has been invited to join House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, senior White House and Administration officials, including the President’s Cabinet members at the black-tie gala. They will be joined by Frankie Avalon, Anna Maria Alberghetti, Dana Brunetti, Giuliana DePandi-Rancic, Deana Martin, Joe Pantoliano and Mike Piazza. Maria Bartiromo, Emmy Award-winning journalist and a member of the NIAF Board of Directors, will serve as the gala’s mistress of ceremonies.

Honorees joining Senator Cafaro include Claudio Bozzo, president of the Mediterranean Shipping Company (USA) Inc.; Dion DiMucci, rock and roll hall of famer; Hon. Frank J. Guarini, former U.S. Congressman and NIAF chairman emeritus; Frank G. Mancuso Sr., former chairman and CEO of the Paramount Pictures and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studio; Emma Marcegaglia, president of Confindustria; Paolo Scudieri, CEO of Adler Plastic S.p.A.; and Hon. Santo Versace, president of Gianni Versace S.p.A. and chairman of the Board of Fondazione Operation Smile Italia Onlus.

Since 2009, Senator Cafaro has held a leadership role in the Ohio Senate. She joined the General Assembly in 2007 representing the 32nd Senate District, which includes Ashtabula and Trumbull counties in northeastern Ohio. One year after becoming a member of the Ohio General Assembly, Senator Cafaro secured a leadership position as the Assistant Minority Whip for the Senate Democrats.

She has served on the Trumbull County Senior Services Advisory Council and was a State Policy Liaison for Ohio with the National Patient Advocate Foundation. Senator Cafaro also served as a State Advocate Representative for the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare as well as a councilor for the Medicare Rights Center. In 2008, she received the Woman of the Year Award by the Liberty Historical Society, named a Friend of Agriculture by the Ohio Farm Bureau, and was a recipient of one of the five MVP’s in her “40 under 40” class. She graduated from Stanford University with a bachelor’s degree in American Studies and a masters degree from Georgetown University in International Studies.

The NIAF gala is one of the premier annual events in the nation’s capital, attracting more than 3,000 guests from the United States and Italy. Tickets to Saturday’s gala begin at $400 per person. Proceeds benefit NIAF’s educational programs. For tickets or sponsor information, contact Jerry Jones at 202/939-3102, jerry@niaf.org, or register online www.niaf.org/gala.

The National Italian American Foundation (NIAF) is a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving and promoting the heritage and culture of Americans of Italian descent.