FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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

(WASHINGTON, D.C. – June 5, 2007) Twenty Italian-American undergraduate and graduate communications students from across the United States have been chosen to participate in Graduates to Leaders (G2L) Communications Program . Sponsored by the National Italian American Foundation (NIAF), the all-expenses-paid educational workshops will be held in New York City from June 10-12, 2007.

NIAF’s G2L lecture and discussion series will provide students with an insider’s view of the communications field. Through interaction with prominent and influential media personalities, the workshops will serve as networking forums, introducing participants to a professional support group of Italian Americans in communications and journalism.

This year’s speakers include: Louis R. Carlozo, columnist and assistant editor at the Chicago Tribune; Tony Ceglio, CEO of The Italian American Channel (IAC); Michael DeCheser, president of IVP New Media; John DeNatale, programming executive producer at WNET-TV Channel 13; Julie Bennett Iannuzzi, senior producer at MarketWatch Weekend; Bob Leverone, vice president of television at Dow Jones Online; Gina Rubel, Esq., president of Furia Rubel Communications, Inc.; and Giada Vercelli, anchor at Bloomberg Television Italy.

The program also includes tours of Dow Jones and The Wall Street Journal, NASDAQ MarketSite, and RAI International studios.

Seminar topics will include “Make Me See: What Makes a Great Piece of Journalism Stand Out,” “Online/Technological Communications Outlets and Distribution,” and “Foreign Media and the Crossover Into American Outlets.”

For more information, visit www.niaf.org/G2L or contact Giuseppina Spillane at gspillane@niaf.org or 202/939-3107.

NIAF is a non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C., dedicated to preserving the heritage of Italian Americans. To learn about our programs/events, visit www.niaf.org.