​​S. Joseph Bruno, C.P.A.

Chairman, Board of Directors

S Joseph Bruno, C.P.A., is an entrepreneur and philanthropist,. ​​​​​​​ Joe is the President/CEO-Emeritus Building Hope, a nonprofit organization that supports the establishment and support of charter schools throughout out the United States.  He was the organization’s founder, President and CEO since its founding 2004. A certified public accountant, Joe has 50 years of accounting, finance, business, and management experience, including as a partner in two Big-4 accounting firms and as the CFO of a public company. He serves on the board of numerous non-profits entities including at Leadership Greater Washington, DC Police Foundation, the Boys and Girls Club, Big Brothers, the Florida Consortium of Public Charter Schools and BLUUM. Joe was also the former Chairman of the Board of Directors of Georgetown Medstar Hospital. A native of Sicily, Joe has always been passionate about his Italian and Sicilian heritage and in 2010, he was honored as the Man of the Year by the Lido Civic Club.  Joe is also a CISC Founder and has been a supporter of the programs and mission of the Casa Italiana Sociocultural Center Inc./IAMDC.  He is a graduate of St. John’s College High School and a recipient of the Saint John's President's Medal. Joe is a graduate of the University of Maryland.

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Cav. Mary Ann Re, PhD.

Vice-Chair

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Mary Ann Re served as the first Director of the Joseph and Elda Coccia Institute for the Italian Experience in America at Montclair State University in Montclair, New Jersey from 2008 through 2020.  Her primary responsibilities included the development and implementation of educational and cultural programs for K-12 and college students, as well as outreach/relationship building with other academic, cultural and diplomatic institutions.  Prior to leading the Coccia Institute, Mary Ann served as the Executive Director of the State of New Jersey’s Italian Heritage Commission. She serves on the boards of several cultural and academic organizations including the Italian Heritage Culture Committee of New York (IHCC-NY), the NJIHC Board of Academic Advisors, UNICO National, and the Order Sons and Daughters of Italy in America (OSDIA) and the Italian American Studies Association.  Having relocated to Washington, Mary Ann now serves as DC Liaison for both the NJIHC and the IHCC-NY. Earlier, Mary Ann worked in social service policy research in New York and Washington State; and later, in a number of positions at AT&T Headquarters, Basking Ridge, NJ, including Director of the Consumer Testing Laboratory at Bell Labs; Director of Global Employee Research; and Program Analyst in Business Market Research/Strategic Alliances. She earned her Ph.D. in Sociology at St. John’s University.Mary Ann’s father was born in Santa Marina Salina, Isole Eolie (Province of Messina/Sicilia) and immigrated with his family to Brooklyn, NY in 1928. A ten year labor of love, Mary Ann and her husband have restored the long abandoned family home and have enjoyed vacationing there and renewing family relationships. In 2012 Mary Ann was honored to be decorated as a Cavaliere, Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana, for her promotion of Italian language and culture within the academic and larger communities.

 

Ciro DeFalco*

​​Ciro De Falco has had a long and distinguished career in international finance and development.  After completing his studies, he went to work for the United States Treasury Department as an economist. From 1966 to 1988, he held a number of important positions in that agency, working primarily on policy formulation and execution dealing with Latin America, Africa and Asia. During that period, he also had an opportunity to work abroad, serving as the Treasury Attaché both in Brazil and in Italy. Ciro went to the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) in 1988 to participate in a major reformulation of Bank’s role in the Latin American Region.   He was originally the manager for policies and country strategies and subsequently was made Manager of one of the regional departments, responsible for lending to the English-speaking Caribbean countries and to four of the Andean countries (Venezuela, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia).  In that capacity, he managed a portfolio of several billion dollars per year.   In 2005, he was promoted to be the Executive Vice President, which made him the Chief Operating Officer of the institution.   He served in that capacity until he retired in 2008. He graduated from the City College of New York in 1963 and finished his PhD work at the City University of New York in 1966. Since 2021,  Mr. De Falco has served as  Chairman of the Board of Directors of Casa Italiana Sociocultural Center Inc.

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James Yankay

 

James Yankay is the Chief of Revenue and Cost Analysis Branch within U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the domestic immigration benefit agency. James has worked in various government roles in the field of immigration and data analysis for more than ten years and is considered an expert on U.S. immigration policy and operations. James earned his undergraduate degree in International Political Economy from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in 2010. James has also earned a Master's degree from the University of Maryland. James lives in Arlington, VA with his wife, Claire.

 

 

 

 

 

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James W. Cocco, CPA,
Treasurer

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Mr. Cocco is managing director of James W. Cocco, CPA LLC of Fairfax, VA with over 35 years of experience in providing financial and tax advisory service solutions, consulting, and business development strategies for both private and public companies.  Jim has previously held senior management positions for two local Washington D.C. public accounting firms as well as worked 17 years with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) where he held various positions including being a national tax program administrator and International Examiner in the Large and Mid-cap Business Division.

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​​​​​​​​Dona DeSanctis, PhD

Dona De Sanctis is the former deputy executive director of the Order Sons and Daughters of Italy in America, the oldest and largest national organization for men and women of Italian descent in the U.S.    She also worked for ten years as Director of Research at the National Italian American Foundation (NIAF) in Washington, D.C.  Dr. De Sanctis holds a Master's degree in Italian and a PhD. in Comparative Literature.  Her doctoral dissertation was on realism in literature and opera.  She was a Fulbright scholar at the University of Rome and lived in that city for many years before returning to the United States.  She is fluent in Italian and English.   During her career, she has also worked as a news broadcaster and translator at the Vatican Radio in Rome; a reporter in Washington, D.C.; and an instructor in Italian at Brooklyn College in New York City, where she was born and raised.  Her great-grandparents came to the United States in 1880 from towns near Naples and Benevento.  
 

Gianluca Nigro

Gianluca Nigro was born in Rome, Italy and was raised in Hingham Massachusetts. After graduating from The George Washington University in 2019, Gianluca began working in the US House of Representatives. He currently serves as a foreign policy advisor to a Member of Congress from Pennsylvania, as well as the Director of Member Services for the House Budget Committee. Gianluca is an avid fan of SSC Napoli. He enjoys cooking and traveling, especially back to Napoli and Roma.

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​​Vito John Germinario

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Vito John Germinario is CEO and Co-Owner of GPR, Inc., a commercial glazing company, and Managing Principal of LGV Group LLC, a commercial real estate development firm. Vito arrived in Washington from New York in 1994, to lead the team that completed the facade of the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center. Since then, he has been involved in projects at the National Museum of the American Indian, E. Barrett Prettyman Federal Courthouse, GSA building, among others.A first-generation Italian American, Vito grew up in Hoboken, New Jersey, as the oldest of four children. His father Antonio emigrated from Molfetta, Provincia di Bari, in Puglia. His parents stressed education from an early age. He was taught by the sisters of Saint Francis in grammar school and by the Jesuits at St. Peter’s Prep and St. Peter’s University in Jersey City. Italian culture has always fascinated Vito, as evidenced by his twice-yearly trips to Italy.Vito’s passion is helping children, a cause to which he dedicates time, energy and resources. A longtime supporter of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, he was honored with their 2014 Hitchcock Humanitarian Award for leadership and philanthropy. He serves on the Breath of Life committee and is fully committed to helping find a cure.Vito has been honored by numerous other organizations. He has received an Achievement Award from the ALS Association an Award for Excellence by the Make-a-Wish America, an in 2018, the Lido Civic Club named him 2018 Man of the Year, thereby placing him a long list of distinguished past honorees, among them Supreme Court Justices Antonin Scalia and Sam Alito, Senator Rick Santorum, and businessman Chris Clemente. Vito is an active member of the Lido Civic Club, and serves on the its Executive Committee and is Chairman of the Lido Club Civic Charities.Among his many board memberships, Vito is Chairman Emeritus of the BOD at Make-a-Wish Mid-Atlantic; Chairman Emeritus Excel Academy; Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees at his alma mater, St. Peter’s Prep; Chair BOD Middleburg Community Charter School; Vice Chairman BOD Ryan Bartel Foundation; member Advisory Board of the Columbia Lighthouse for the Blind; and a member of the National Board at Entryway.Vito recently joined the Board at Annunciation Catholic School in DC. In June 2025, he will become a member of the Board of Visitors at George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia School of Law.Vito is a Sustaining Member of the Italian American Museum of Washington DC, and a generous supporter of the museum’s Italian Legacy Grant program for area college students.He is a Life Member of the NRA, serving on the Youth Services Committee.Vito and his wife Kristin, who were married in 1997, live in Bluemont, Virginia.

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​​​​Gene L. Dodaro*

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Gene L. Dodaro served as the eighth Comptroller General of the United States and head of the Government Accountability Office (GAO) from December 30, 2010 through December 29, 2025. As Comptroller General, Mr. Dodaro helped oversee the development and issuance of hundreds of reports and testimonies each year to committees and individual Members of Congress. Mr. Dodaro also helped provide leadership to the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions(INTOSAI). INTOSAI, comprised of 195 countries’ national audit offices, sets international standards for public sector audits and helps build capacity of audit offices, especially in developing countries. Mr. Dodaro was a member of the Governing Board, led the development of strategic plans for INTOSAI and worked with over 20 donor organizations, such as the World Bank, to arrange capacity enhancing efforts in over 80 audit offices around the globe. Until 1999, Mr. Dodaro headed GAO's Accounting and Information Management Division, the agency's largest unit, which specialized in financial management, computer technology, and budget issues. While there, he directed the first-ever audit of the comprehensive financial statements covering all federal departments and agencies.  Mr. Dodaro, who holds a bachelor's degree in accounting from Lycoming College in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, is a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration and a member of the Association of Government Accountants (AGA). Mr. Dodaro received recognition from numerous organizations. In 2025 he received AGA’s Lifetime Achievement Award for a Legacy of Service and was inducted into Government Executive’s Government Hall of Fame. Prior awards include the Braden Award from the Department of Accountancy at Case Western Reserve University, the Administrator of the Year Award from the Romney Institute, BYU Marriott School of Business, the John Glenn Excellence in Public Service Award from the Ohio State University, and the Accounting Exemplar Award from the American Accounting Association. In 2026 Mr. Dodaro was elected to the Accounting Hall of Fame. In 2014,  Mr Dodaro was awarded the National Public Service Award by the Lido Civic Club of Washington DC.

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Brian DellaRocca, Legal Counsel**

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​Brian R. Della Rocca is the founder and principal of Della Rocca Law LLC in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan area, and a trusted attorney with more than two decades of experience in estate planning, trusts, probate, business law, and nonprofit law. He is known for pairing deep technical knowledge with a warm, thoughtful approach that helps clients feel informed, supported, and confident as they navigate important personal, financial, and organizational decisions. Mr. Della Rocca earned a B.A. from the State University of New York at Oneonta, a J.D. from The Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law, and an LL.M. in Taxation, along with a certificate in employee benefits, from Georgetown University Law Center. He is a past President of the Lido Civic Club of Washington, D.C., and serves in a representative capacity for the Embassy of Italy in Washington, D.C. A frequent speaker and published author, he has shared his insights with attorneys, accountants, financial advisors, and community audiences. His leadership in the legal community, together with honors including Martindale-Hubbell’s AV Superb rating and recognition by Super Lawyers, reflects both his professional excellence and his longstanding commitment to serving clients and the broader community with integrity and care.

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​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Fr. Maurizio Maifredi, c.s. Chaplain

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