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Gala
Gala

On November 22, our two weeks event will conclude with a spectacular Italian Gala at the SoWa Power Station in Boston which promises to be an unforgettable celebration and, above all, will represent the occasion to express our deep gratitude for the significant contributions of the Italian-American community to the growth and success of America. We hope that you will be part of the grand affair, as we recognize four remarkable local Italian Americans, who have excelled in their areas of expertise, for their decades of leadership and creativity. Karyn Polito, former Massachusetts lieutenant governor, will be recognized for her years of public service; Joseph Campanelli, CEO of Needham Bank for business leadership; Joseph Loscalzo, M.D., Ph.D. for his successes in medicine, and David Manfredi, CEO and founding principal of Elkus-Manfredi for architecture.

Thanks to the great partnership we have established with the Italian October Heritage Month Committee of Massachusetts, donations will go directly to the Committee to support the Festival and the Gala!

THE GALA IN PICTURES
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Awards Of Italian creativity | introductory remarks by Consul General Arnaldo Minuti
Award ceremony video

Karyn Polito served as the 72nd lieutenant governor of Massachusetts, alongside Gov. Charlie Baker, from 2015-2023. During her tenure as lieutenant governor, she was an advocate for women’s empowerment and a champion for renewable energy, climate adaptation, workforce development, housing, STEM education, and the innovation economy.

 
Prior to her election as lieutenant governor, she served as a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives and in municipal government. As a lawyer, she managed her family’s real estate development and commercial leasing business where she presides as owner and operator today.
 
Currently, Polito is an independent director on public and private corporate boards. She enjoys mentoring students at the Harvard Kennedy School Rappaport Institute and Working 4 Worcester, a student-led nonprofit, and supports the Worcester Regional Research Bureau on public policy. She is a mother to two college-aged students and married for 28 years to Steve Rodolakis.

AWARD CEREMONY VIDEO

Joseph Loscalzo, M.D., Ph.D. is currently the Samuel A. Levine Professor of Medicine and Hersey Distinguished Professor of the Theory and Practice of Medicine at Harvard Medical School (HMS) and Physician-in-Chief Emeritus at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH). He received his AB degree, summa cum laude, his PhD in biochemistry, and his MD from the University of Pennsylvania, and completed clinical training at BWH and HMS.

 
Dr. Loscalzo joined the HMS faculty and BWH staff in 1984 rising to the rank of Associate Professor of Medicine. He joined the faculty of Boston University in 1994, as Chief of Cardiology, then in 1997, Wade Professor and Chair of Medicine, Professor of Biochemistry, and Director of the Whitaker Cardiovascular Institute. He returned to HMS in 2005 as the Hersey Professor of the Theory and Practice of Medicine, Soma Weiss, MD, Distinguished Chair in Medicine, and at BWH, Chair of the Department of Medicine, and Physician-in-Chief. He transitioned to his current roles in 2022.
 
Dr. Loscalzo is recognized as an outstanding cardiovascular scientist, clinician, and teacher. He is also former Editor-in-Chief of Circulation, currently Editor-at-Large of the New England Journal of Medicine, and a current senior editor of Harrison’s Principles of Internal Medicine. He has authored, co-authored, or edited more than 1200 scientific publications and 54 books.

Joseph Loscalzo, M.D., Ph.D.

AWARD CEREMONY VIDEO

Joseph Campanelli joined Needham Bank in 2017 as chief executive officer after a distinguished career building successful business at commercial banks, including Hartford National Bank, Shawmut Bank, Fleet Bank, Sovereign Bank and Flagstar. He played a leadership role in the branch acquisition and integration that took place when Sovereign Bank acquired the branches that Fleet Financial Group divested after its merger with Bank Boston Corp., which at the time was the largest branch and business divestiture in US banking history. As chairman, CEO and director of Flagstar Bank, Campanelli led a turnaround to restore the bank to profitability.

 
An energetic and charismatic leader, he has a track record of leading transformational change. At Needham Bank his focus has been on creating a future-ready community bank offering all of the products, services and technology that businesses and consumers need to build for their futures. Under his leadership, the bank has significantly increased its commercial lending portfolio, with a focus on small business, middle market and larger corporate entities through a new Structured Finance division. Today the bank is able to provide substantial levels of credit and customize cash management services to a wide range of entities in diverse industries.
AWARD CEREMONY VIDEO

David Manfredi CEO and founding principal of Elkus Manfredi Architects, David Manfredi has been privileged to work with industry leaders on a diverse portfolio of planning and building projects. As a firm believer that the quality of our environment directly influences the quality of our lives, he effectively advocates for building and protecting vital, sustainable and durable urban places.

 
Manfredi has planned vital new urban neighborhoods, recast tired neighborhoods into 21st-century main streets, transformed the edges of universities from barriers into connective seams with adjacent neighborhoods, created lively innovation districts and revived obsolete manufacturing buildings as active places for innovation and entrepreneurship.
 
From the life science research center, the Eli and Edythe Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, to The Grove in Los Angeles, from the New Balance Headquarters in Boston to the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Manfredi’s mission is to create common ground that brings people and communities together.
 
Manfredi is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame with bachelor’s degrees in both English and Architecture, and the University of Chicago, where he earned a master’s degree. He is a fellow of the American Institute of Architects and the Boston Society of Architects and serves on the Board of Trustees of the Boston Architectural College and chairs the Advisory Council of the School of Architecture at the University of Notre Dame.