WASHINGTON, D.C., April 4, 2016 - Leaders in public service, business, labor and philanthropy will be honored May 26 in Washington, D.C., at the Sons of Italy Foundation's (SIF) National Education & Leadership Awards Gala. The SIF is the philanthropic arm of the Sons of Italy, the nation's largest and oldest organization for people of Italian heritage.

 

Condoleezza Rice will be honored with the 2016 SIF Lifetime Achievement Award for Public Service for her distinguished career in education administration and international relations, chiefly as 66th U.S. Secretary of State - the first African American woman in that position - and for service during two presidential administrations. In the 1980s, Dr. Rice was a Special Assistant to the Director of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during her fellowship at the Council on Foreign Relations, and went on to join President George H.W. Bush's National Security Council staff. She served as provost of Stanford from 1993 to 1999, overseeing an annual budget of $1.5 billion and an academic program for more than 15,000 faculty and students. In 2001, Dr. Rice became President George W. Bush's National Security Advisor and was appointed Secretary of State in 2005, serving for the remainder of the administration.

 

The SIF Lifetime Achievement Award for Public Service is presented annually to a person who is not of Italian heritage. The award and the recipient reflect the significance of working together to build a better global community. Previous recipients include President Bill Clinton; Vice President Joe Biden; Gen. Colin Powell, and Sen. Jack Reed.

 

Nicholas E. Calio will receive the 2016 SIF Award for Excellence in Business. Mr. Calio is president and CEO of Airlines for America (A4A), the trade association for the country's leading passenger and cargo airlines, whose members and affiliates transport more than 90 percent of all U.S. airline passenger and cargo traffic. Prior to joining A4A, Mr. Calio was Citigroup's Executive Vice President for Global Government Affairs and a member of the company's Management Committee. He served as Assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs for President George W. Bush from 2001-2003 and held the same position during the administration of President George H.W. Bush. Mr. Calio was also a founding partner at O'Brien*Calio, a law and lobbying firm.

 

Joseph M. Mattone, Sr., and Mary Ann Pessolano Mattone, RN/MPH will be co-recipients of the 2016 SIF National Education & Leadership Award (NELA). Mr. Mattone is chairman and CEO of The Mattone Group, a development, construction and property management company in Queens, N.Y. He has been involved in real estate development for more than 60 years and also serves as a senior partner in law firm Mattone, Mattone, Mattone, LLP, having been admitted to the New York State Bar in 1956. Mr. Mattone has been bestowed countless honors and special appointments and has been involved with numerous charitable causes and fraternal organizations including the Sons of Italy. Mrs. Mattone, a registered nurse who also has a Master's degree in public health, focused her career in academics before moving to the corporate sector in 1982. She has fund-raised for many causes, such as the New York Mentoring Program; received numerous accolades, including from St. John's University; and been involved in various community groups, including the Columbus Citizens Foundation's Ladies' Auxiliary. Mr. and Mrs. Mattone have been married since 1991.

 

Paul Rinaldi will receive the 2016 SIF Humanitarian Award. Mr. Rinaldi is in the midst of his third term as president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA), the first person to be elected for three terms in the union. As a labor leader, he is the voice for tens of thousands of working Americans in the air traffic control profession and promotes collaboration between NATCA and federal agencies as well as other related organizations. Mr. Rinaldi's leadership has spurred growth of the NATCA Reloaded program, which includes mentoring and meet-and-greets with the union's academy students.

 

Award-winning actor Joe Mantegna will be the master of ceremonies and his National Memorial Day Concert co-host, award-winning actor Gary Sinise, will be one of numerous special guests expected to attend. About 1,000 guests attend the NELA Gala each year. Past attendees have included the sitting U.S. president, including George W. Bush, members of the cabinet and Congress, and foreign leaders and diplomats, including Italian President Giorgio Napolitano.

 

Over its quarter-century-plus, the SIF gala has honored U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, AIDS researchers Anthony Fauci and Robert Gallo, the late Geraldine Ferraro, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Peter Pace, USMC (Ret.), and entertainers Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, and Regis Philbin.

 

The philanthropic arm of the Order Sons of Italy in America^® (OSIA), the SIF has contributed $164 million to education, medical research, disaster relief, cultural preservation, and other special projects, with $61 million of it given to scholarships. NELA Gala proceeds help fund these philanthropic programs.

 

For information, please call 202-547-8115 or email nelagala@osia.org.