The National Italian American Foundation’s (NIAF) Board of Directors unanimously elected ISDA National President, Basil M. Russo, to its Board on April 29th at its meeting held in NYC.
NIAF President and COO, John Viola, stated “I know I speak for all of our leadership when I say I am thrilled to have Basil Russo join our Board of Directors. Not only is Basil known throughout the community for his tireless and dedicated leadership, but his energetic pursuit of excellence and his commitment to evolving our community’s institutions for the future is perfectly aligned with our efforts here at NIAF. I’m confident he is beginning a long and fruitful tenure here, and I look forward to us working together.”
NIAF, which is headquartered in Washington, D.C., is regarded as the most important and influential Italian American organization in the U.S. NIAF serves as the national spokesperson for the 26 million Americans of Italian descent, with the U. S. government as well as the Italian government.
This is the first time in the history of the ISDA that its President has been invited to serve on the NIAF Board of Directors. Basil is also the President of the Justinian Forum, a bar association in greater Cleveland representing 350 lawyers and judges of Italian descent. Basil was one of the founding members of the Northeast Ohio Italian American Foundation (NOIA) and currently serves as secretary of the Board. He also serves as chairman of the Columbus Day Parade and the Cleveland Italian Film Festival.
ISDA President, Basil Russo, responded “I am honored to represent the membership of the Italian Sons and Daughters of America on the NIAF Board. The ISDA is one of the largest and most successful Italian American organizations in the U.S., and it is fitting that the ISDA is now being accorded the respect and recognition it has earned. The ISDA will now have a voice in helping to establish the Italian American community’s national agenda.”
President Russo stated that he has great respect and admiration for NIAF’s President, John Viola, and for the work that President Viola and NIAF have done for the Italian American community.
President Russo further stated “NIAF and ISDA share a common vision and mission which is to preserve and perpetuate the culture, traditions and values of Americans of Italian descent. Only by working together can we most effectively accomplish that goal.”
Also elected to the Board with Basil Russo, was Joseph R. Guccione, the managing director of Freeh Group International Solutions, LLC, and former U.S. Marshall for the Southern District of New York.
