The AMHS Officers for 2012
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The AMHS Officers for 2012 |
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Membership  Maria D'Andrea (biography) |
 Dick DiBuono (biography) |
Programs  Vacant (biography) |
 Joe Novello (biography) |
 Joann Novello (biography) |
 Lucio D'Andrea (biography) |
 Omero Sabatini (biography) |
AND PUBLICITY
VACANT |
Bruno Fusco (biography) |
GENEALOGY
Richard DiBuono (biography) |
AMHS WEBSITE 
Romeo Sabatini (biography) |
VACANT |
FUNDRAISING 
Joseph Onofrietti (biography) |
Richard (Dick) DiBuono, President, and Genealogy Chairman
Mr. Redente graduated from Boston University School of Law in 1999, where he was an Edward F. Hennessey Scholar and
earned the distinction: Honors, Litigation and Dispute Resolution Concentration. He received his Bachelor of Arts
degree, summa cum laude, from Hunter College (CUNY) in 1996, where he was elected to membership in Phi Beta Kappa.
Mr. Redente’s paternal grandparents were born in Musellero di Bolognano, Italy, located in the region of Abruzzo.
In efforts to preserve and enhance the culture of his Italian heritage, he has served with numerous Italian-American
organizations, including as a member of the Board of Directors of the Columbian Lawyers Association, First Department,
New York, and as a member of the Executive House Committee of the Columbus Citizens Foundation.
Mr. DiBuono is retired from a 45-year long practice as a Civil Engineer – 5 years for the State of California,
33 with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and 7 as president of Richard J. DiBuono, LLC, consulting engineering firm.
Active in civic affairs all his adult life, he currently is immediate past-president of the Lifetime Learning Institute
of Northern Virginia and serves on the Institute’s Board of Directors. Experienced in genealogical research – he has
traced his paternal Molisani ancestry back to the late 1600’s and his maternal Marchegiani ancestry back to the early
1700’s – Dick also serves as a volunteer genealogical librarian at the Annandale Family History Center. He is the father
of Jeffrey DiBuono of Marlborough, Massachusetts, and grandfather of Matthew and Michael.
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Maria D’Andrea, Vice-President Membership
Maria D’Andrea is proud to be a first generation Italian-American: her mother was born in Pacentro,
Abruzzo and her father in Roccamandolfi, Molise. She has been an active member of the Society since it
was founded by her father, and others, 10 years ago. She has been editor of the Notiziario, a member
of the Board, and Vice President of Programs. In her professional life, Maria manages a team of seven
in the Office of Textiles and Apparel at the U.S. Department of Commerce. She is responsible for domestic
policy issues, and the textile and apparel trade portfolio for Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and
Oceania. Prior to joining the Department of Commerce, Maria worked on textile and clothing trade issues as
a member of the Secretariat of the World Trade Organization in Geneva, Switzerland. Maria is also a volunteer
with the city of Alexandria Domestic Violence Program, where she co-facilitates a support group to help
educate women about the impact of domestic violence on their lives and the lives of their children, and
to help empower their lives.
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Joe Novello, Treasurer
Joe Novello was born in Montazzoli, Province of Chieti, in Abruzzo.
He is the youngest of six children of Filippo and Ersilia Mancini
Novello. With his parents and his sister Bernice, Joe emigrated to
Scotch Plains, NJ in May 1955 to reunite with his paternal
grandmother, four uncles, and many paesani. By 1966 the rest of
Joe’s family was reunited within the United States. Joe graduated
from Rutgers University in 1964 with a BS in Electrical Engineering,
and attended the New Jersey Institute of Technology for one year and
received a MS in Electrical Engineering. In June 1965, Joe began his
career with NASA at Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) in Greenbelt,
MD, to work in their Manned Space Flight Division. In 1967, he
joined a group of electronic engineers developing a central computer
for satellites. This computer became the NASA Standard Central
Computer (NSCC- 1), the baseline on many NASA satellites. Joe worked
as a lead electronic engineer in the development of several
instruments flown by NASA in the Shuttle missions, the Space
telescope missions, and sounding rockets missions.
Joe retired from NASA in Jannuary of 2006 after 40&1/2 years of
service. Since retiring, he has devoted significant time to his
lifelong real estate interest. He loves to spend time with family
and friends. Joe enjoys visiting his siblings and extended family in
N.J. He is an active member of AMHS, the Briscola Club, and Holy
Rosary Church. Joe’s hobbies include gardening, winemaking,
financial investments, and travel.
Joe is happily married to Joann Bagliere Novello (½ Molisana, ½
Siciliana) also from N.J. He and his wife have four children, and a
growing number of grandchildren.
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Joann Bagliere Novello,
Secretary
Joann Bagliere was born in Jersey City, NJ, to a mother from Molise
and a Sicilian-American father. Her first trip to Italy was as a
child in 1959, to visit with her maternal grandparents and extended
family in Montemitro, Campobasso, Molise. This trip included a
whirlwind tour of “the boot.” She returned for a summer study in
Rome while in college, sealing her love for all things Italian.
Joann graduated from the College of New Rochelle with a Bachelor of
Arts in English literature, and received a Master of Arts in English
from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. While teaching at
Georgian Court College in Lakewood, NJ, Joann continued graduate
studies at Fordham University and, after marrying Joseph Novello and
relocating to Maryland, at the University of Maryland. She left her
studies to raise her family of four. Joann returned to work as
director of a pre-school, where she also taught for several years
before retiring. Her hobbies include cooking and baking, reading,
traveling, and being Nonna to the grandchildren.
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Omero Sabatini, Immediate Past President and Board Member
A retired American diplomat, Omero Sabatini is one of
the founding members of the Abruzzo and Molise Heritage
Society, and for a while also was its Vice President for
Programs. For the past several years, he has been active in a number of other
Italian-American organizations. He was a Trustee of
the Virginia Grand Lodge of the Order of the Sons of
Italy in America (OSIA), and is Past President of OSIA’s
Italian Heritage Lodge of Fairfax, VA. He was also
Treasurer of the Italian Cultural Society of Washington,
DC and a member of the Parish Council of Holy Rosary
Church, the Italian Parish of the Washington, DC
metropolitan area.
Born in Indiana, Omero lived in Italy from the age of
three until his early twenties. In the States, he
devoted most of his professional life to the promotion
of US exports. In 1981 the President of the United
States, with the advice and consent of the Senate,
appointed him a Foreign Service Officer, a Consular
Officer, and a Secretary in the US Diplomatic Service.
Omero’s diplomatic assignments and official government
travels took him to most West European countries,
Algeria, Canada, and a number of Asian nations.
Prior to joining the US diplomatic corps, he was an
international trade economist, first for the US
Department of Commerce and then for the US Department of
Agriculture. Before that, he had been a member of the
advertising department of Reader’s Digest, in New York
City.
In retirement, however, Omero chose to devote a large
part of his time to advancing Italian-American personal
relationships. In addition to publishing Promise of
Fidelity, which is a modern translation and adaptation
of Italy’s greatest novel, I Promessi Sposi, he has
written numerous articles and human- interest stories in
both English and Italian.
He holds a degree (Laurea) from the University of Rome
“La Sapienza”, Rome, Italy, and a Master’s Degree from
the University of Chicago, Chicago, IL.
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Lucio D'Andrea, President Emeritus and Board Member
Lucio D'Andrea is native of Roccamandolfi in the region of Molise, Italy. He immigrated to the U.S. in 1948 along
with his brother Joseph and mother Candida to join his father, who lived in Pittsburgh, Pa. As was typical for numerous
immigrants entering the U.S at that time, Lucio began the process of learning English. Upon completion of his secondary school
education, he enrolled at the University of Pittsburgh, graduating in 1957 with a B.S. degree in Petroleum Engineering and a
commission as Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Upon completion of his military service, he moved to
Wyoming to work for an oil company. He later returned East and accepted a position with the Federal Power Commission in
Washington, D.C. He served in a number of government agencies and in 1986 he accepted an appointment by the Secretary
General of the United Nations to serve as Senior Economic Officer with the Economic Commission of Europe in Geneva,
Switzerland, becoming deputy director of its Energy Division. He retired from the ECE in 1983 and entered private practice
as an energy consultant.
During his long professional and military career, he received numerous awards and recognitions. One which he is particularly
proud of proud is the "Order of Merit of the Republic of Italy", which he received in 1972 for his involvement with the Italian
Cultural Society in promoting Italian culture in the Washington D.C. area. He has maintained a steadfast commitment to the
promotion and development of Italian cultural traditions and values. One of his causes is to defend that heritage against
degradation and negative stereotyping of Italians and Italian-Americans, which regrettably still surface in American society.
Being proud of his heritage demonstrated with Lucio having taken the initiative to establish in the Washington, D.C.
area the Abruzzo and Molise Heritage Society. Lucio remains active in the Italian American community by also being a member
of OSIA, the National Italian American Foundation, COPILAS(Council for the Promotion of the Italian Language) and COMITESDC
(Committee to Represent Italians Abroad) established by Government of Italy..Continuing his commitment to the promotion of
Italian culture, Lucio recently established the Italian Heritage Society of St..Mary of Sorrows in Fairfax, Va, the parish
that the D'Andrea family joined in 1969, when they settled in the area. Lucio is married to Edvige, a native of
Pacentro, in Abruzzo. They have six children and seven grandchildren.
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Raymond Bernero, Board
Member
Raymond is a native of Chicago, Illinois. A
graduate of DePaul University
Academy, Ray received a Bachelor of
Science and a Master of Arts from
Northwestern University, Evanston,
Illinois, and a Ph.D. from Gallaudet
University, Washington. D.C..
His work career includes 3 1/2 years in
the U.S. Air Force; Associate
Professor of Audiology at Gallaudet
University; Director of Hearing
Conservation, Illinois Department
of Public Health; Chief of
Audiology and Speech Pathology,
Bureau of Maternal and Child
Health, D.C. Department of Public
Health. Retired 1994.
A member of AMHS since 2001,
served as Treasurer, and a member of
the Scholarship
Committee, and currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors.
Wife, Virginia (Gini), 4 children
and 8 grandchildren. Resides in
Fairfax, Virginia.
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Mario Ciccone, Board
Member
Mario Ciccone came to United States when he was 13 years old. He resided with his relatives in the Pittsburgh area
where he also attended school. While working for the FBI and attending college in Washington, he was drafted into
the military and served at Edgewood Arsenal and at Fort Myer, VA in the Army Materiel Command. Mario returned from
military service and accepted employment with Group Hospitalization Inc.’s data processing operations, supporting
medical providers nationwide to access a database of members’ benefits. He later was offered a Collection Officer
position with a Federal Credit Union and retired 3 years ago to spend time with his four grandchildren and to travel
to Europe.
One of the satisfying moments in addition to helping form the AMHS was in the 1960’s, when Mario also helped organize
the Italian Cadets soccer team, and every game was an event.
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David Ciummo, Board
Member
David has lived in Washington DC for 15 years and is active in the local Italian community.
He was one of our charter members joining after attending organizational meetings in 2000.
Retirement in 2006 capped his federal employment for the US Army as program manager. He
now spends much of his time pursuing his passion for Italian culture and improving his culinary
skills. He has also been a student of Roberto Paolinelli, Italian Artistic Ceramics instructor
at Casa italiana, for 9 years. David has an active interest in genealogy and claims his roots to
Isernia, one of the two provinces of the region of Molise from where his father Giuseppe
immigrated at a young age. His father married a "nice Italian girl" named
Antonietta in Pittsburgh, Pa. where both his father and brother Joe still live.
David is not a stranger to the Society having served as an interim Board member some 5 years ago.
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Nancy DeSanti, Board Member
Nancy DeSanti was born in Massachusetts and while
growing up, lived in Athens, Greece for 4 years, and
Manila, in the Philippines, for 3 years. For the past 11
years, she has been a legal specialist with Reed Smith
LLP, a top-15 global law firm. Prior to that, she was an
editor at The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc., a legal
publishing company.
As the daughter of immigrants, Nancy appreciates and
loves her heritage and is interested in Italian
genealogy, history, culture and language. She is a
member of the National Italian American Foundation and
enjoys traveling to Italy each year.
Nancy lives in Alexandria, VA.
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Bruno Fusco, Board Member and Travel Committe Chairman
Bruno Fusco was born in Naples, Italy, where his artistic formation began. He in fact attended the Ballet
School of Teatro San Carlo in Naples, and studied the cello at the Conservatory of Music in San Pietro a Majella.
After becoming part of the ballet troupe of the Massimo Napoletano, he debuted as lead dancer in the television
transmission “Piccolo Mondo” winning a scholarship in 1962. He attended the academy of theater La Scala of Milano.
He then worked at RAI and Antenna Italia Television to be the lead dancer in television specials.
He performed on “The Ed Sullivan Show” and was also guest artist for The Washington Ballet at the White House in
the performance “The Nutcracker”. The Maryland Ballet invited him to collaborate for two years, in the role of
Ballet Master. Maestro Fusco then left the United States to return to his home, in Italy to start his own ballet
company “Balletto Italia”. The company toured all over Italy, with the support of the Ministry of Cultural
Arts & Tourism of Rome.
He has choreographed for theaters such as Sferisterio of Macerata, where he first presented various works of repertory,
and a ballet “MODI”, inspired by the celebrated Italian painter Amedeo Modigliani. Due to its success “MODI”
was performed from 1979 to 1981. Numerous other opera houses and other classical theaters collaborated with him
as lead dancer and choreographed renowned works such as Aida, Traviata, Carmen, Gioconda, Rigoletto, Adriana Lecouvrer, etc. ..
He also performed in several Italian movies. In 1980 with the support of the Italian Government and of the
Italian Embassy in Washington D.C. he produced “The Italian Festival of The Ballet”. Maestro Fusco also
choreographed Ballets for State Ballet of Timisoara, Romania. He was invited by the Italian Cultural Society
of Washington D.C. to produce two shows: “Italian Music” & “Rinaldo in Campo”. He choreographed works
for the repertory program of the National Lyric Opera of Washington D.C. He also has organized numerous
shows for Casa Italiana of Washington D.C for the past fifteen years. His considerable artistic experience
has earned him various recognition awards, and the Medal from the Comune Di Milano for his Silver Anniversary
in the Arts in 1985.
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Nancy Hurst, Chair, Board of Directors
Annunziatina M. Cotticelli Hurst (Nancy) was born in Salerno. She has lived in England and France and
now resides in Annandale Va.. She has been employed for the past 8 years at Finmeccanica as an assistant to the
CEO and as office manager. Prior to Finmeccanica, she worked for Alemia and IRI in the same
capacities. Nancy has been active in the Italian American Community
and has been President fo the Sons of Italy Lodge #2522 for the past five years. She has a daughter,
Francesca, who is pursuing her DMA in piano performance at the Catholic University of America.
Her affiliation to out Society is tied to her mother, who was born in Roccmandolfi, province of Molise.
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Romeo Sabatini, AMHS Webmaster and Chairman, Scholarship Committee
Romeo's roots are in Villa S. Maria, in the province of Chieti, Abruzzo.
Romeo enjoys taking care of the Society's web site, while tending his little vineyard, and spending time with
friends who like to get together to play cards, chess, and reminish the old times. He is now retired, but in his
professional life he spent 36 years as a research meteorologist and analyst with academia, private
industry and the US government. He is a Certified Consulting Meteorologist of the
American Meteorological Society, has an MS Degree in Meteorology from the U. of Wisconsin, studied agronomy at the
U. of Maryland Graduate School, and obtained a Diploma in Economic/Commercial Studies from the Foreign Service Institute.
His main areas of work have been in satellite meteorology, remote sensing, and forecasting crop production, Global
Humanitarian Emergencies, and state failures. In his spare time, he also taught evening courses in meteorology and mathematics
at Park College in the DC area, did translations (Italian-English) for the USJPRS, and was Science Book Reviewer for
the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
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Jeffrey R. Clark, Board Member
Jeff grew up in Utah and has lived the last eight years in the District of Columbia. He works as
chief financial officer for a small government contractor, holds a Master of Business Administration
degree and is a Certified Public Accountant. He is the single father of three children, a 23 year old son,
a 20 year old daughter and a 16 year old son who live with him. He has served this year as the Secretary of
the Festa Italiana Foundation and claims to be of Italian heritage as his 6th great grandfather was a native of Naples.
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Gary E. Redente, Board Member
Gary E. Redente is an attorney, educator and entrepreneur. He is the founder and managing member of Redente Law PLLC,
and is admitted to practice law in the District of Columbia, New York, and Wyoming. Mr. Redente is also an adjunct
professor at Sanford Brown College, McLean, Virginia, where he teaches criminal justice and business. Prior to forming
Redente Law PLLC, he served as an Assistant District Attorney in the Office of the District Attorney, Bronx County,
New York, practiced with the international law firm Steptoe & Johnson LLP, and was the lead instructor of the Paralegal
Studies Program at the Borough of Manhattan Community College.
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Joseph Onofrietti, Chairman Fundraising Committee
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