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Newsmakers
Fall
2005
CHARLES
CAMARDA joins the ranks of Michael
Massimino, Rocco
Petrone and Albert
Sacco who have contributed to the U.S.
exploration of space. A native of Queens, N.Y., Camarda
recently served as a mission specialist on the Space
Shuttle Discovery this summer. An astronaut
since 1996, he holds an M.S, a Ph.D. and seven patents.
He has earned over 21 NASA awards for technical innovations
and accomplishments.
ALFRED E. FESTA,
the new CEO of chemical manufacturer W.R. Grace & Co.,
is expected to pull the ailing company out of the red.
For the past 40 years, Grace has been strapped with personal
injury claims stemming from workers' asbestos exposure.
ROBERTA GAMBARINI is
considered by many as one of today's finest young jazz
singers and a successor to Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan
and Carmen McRae. This Italian native is known for her
near-flawless pitch and vast range. Her first American
CD, Easy to Love, is scheduled to be released
this year.
GIADA DE LAURENTIIS,
a granddaughter of the legendary movie producer Dino
De Laurentiis, is a star in her own right as host of
the cooking show, Everyday Italian on the cable
Food Network. Born in Rome but raised in Los Angeles,
she is a chef, caterer and entrepreneur, having founded
her own food line, GDL Foods. De Laurentiis attended
the prestigious Le Cordon Bleu Culinary School in Paris
and has worked at many famed restaurants in L.A., including
Wolfgang Puck's Spago. Her first cookbook is Everyday
Italian: 125 Simple and Delicious Recipes, available
at local bookstores nationally.
LINDA GIUDICE, M. D. is one of
the nation's leading physician-scientists. Recently appointed the chair of the
Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences at the University
of California at San Francisco, she also is president of the Society for Gynecologic
Investigation and elected to membership in the Institute of Medicine—one
of the highest honors in her field. Born and raised in New York City, Giudice
specializes in treating cancer of the uterus.
PATRICIA DE STACY HARRISON is the
new president and CEO of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), which
oversees the federal funding for public radio and TV nationwide. Before taking
her new position, Harrison was assistant secretary of state for educational and
cultural affairs for the current Administration, focusing on international education.
ED MCBAIN, a master of the police
novel, died of cancer on July 6 at age 78. Born Salvatore Albert Lombino in New
York's East Harlem, he changed his name when a publisher told him it was "too
hard to pronounce." Over 50 of his novels were published, some under the
name "Evan Hunter." Many focused on the work of beat cops and forensic
detectives, including a detective named Steve Carella. As a screenwriter, he
adapted the story that Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds was based on.
MAJOR GENERAL RAYMOND ODIERNO is
assistant to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), the third highest
position in the nation's top military team that advises the president. He serves
under Gen. Peter Pace, JCS chairman and Admiral Edmund Giambastiani, Jr. As
a result, for the first time in U.S. history, Italian Americans hold the JCS's
three top posts. Gen. Odierno led the division that captured Saddam Hussein.
CAMILLE PAGLIA, acclaimed author,
lecturer and critic of contemporary culture, has published Break, Blow,
Burn, her interpretation of 43 of the world's best poems. With this, her
fourth best-seller in 15 years, Paglia explores the symbolism, meaning and relevance
of poems by English and American greats from Shakespeare and Donne to Sylvia
Plath and Gary Snyder because she believes poetry can "light the spirit
and feed the soul." Paglia is professor of humanities and media studies
at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. Her previous books are Sexual
Personae; Sex, Art, and American Culture; and Vamps and Tramps.
(Pantheon Books; $20.00)
SANDRA PIANALTO is one of only
12 Federal Reserve regional presidents in the nation. She votes on the nation's
interest rate policy every other year, researches local economic conditions
and issues and general banking transactions in her position as president of
the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland. Pianalto came to the U.S. from Italy
at age 5.
VINCENT SCHIRALDI, a nationally
known juvenile justice expert, has been nominated by D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams
and confirmed by the city council as the director of the Department of Youth
Rehabilitation Services. He is the first director of this Cabinet-level agency
that replaced the Youth Services Administration.
Compiled by Kylie Cafiero and Krissy Ellison
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