On behalf of our Chairman and the Board of Directors, we are pleased to welcome our newest Board Member, Mary Ann Re. Mary Ann served as the first Director of the Joseph and Elda Coccia Institute for the Italian Experience in America at Montclair State University (Montclair, New Jersey) from 2008 through 2020 where she developed educational and cultural programs for both students and the community at large.
Prior to leading the Coccia Institute, Mary Ann was Executive Director of the State of New Jersey’s Italian Heritage Commission (NJIHC). She serves on the Boards of the NJIHC and the Italian Heritage and Culture Committee of New York, representing them as their DC Liaison. Additionally, she is a member of OSDIA, UNICO National, NOIAW and NIAF.
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. 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. --Francesco Isgro , President