Profiles

Chicago native Debbie Ippolito Di Verde, who now resides in Antioch, definitely has much going on in many facets of the arts. Whether she’s appearing in national commercials, working on her first young adult novel, or completing a master’s degree, she’s found myriad ways to grow and express herself — even as she hones her various ambitions. Di Verde has Sicilian roots on her father’s side, from the town of Santa Catarina Villarmosa. (Her mother is of Polish heritage.) Her grandparents came through Ellis Island, and soon thereafter moved to Taylor and Loomis in Chicago’s Little Italy neighborhood. “Many of …

If the worth of a life is measured in the lives one changes, then Sister Mary Ventura O.P. is pure gold, and an example to all who work with children and young adults in the name of literacy. A teacher for 67 years, Ventura directs the Essential Learning Solutions lab at St. Bernadette Catholic Academy in Evergreen Park. She could’ve rested on her laurels long ago, but Ventura still puts in 10-hour work days. She’s worked at the , lab for the past 20 years. Sister Mary has received many awards over her prolific career, but the one she calls …

This month we highlight the distinguished career of Joseph R. Curcio, one of the true leaders throughout the legal profession and especially in the Italian-American legal community. Frankly, I’ve been after Mr. Curcio for years to permit me to highlight his distinguished career, one that our community should know about and an individual that we can all be proud of and respect greatly. Perhaps, because of his Calabrian roots, he has been adamant about his quasi-anonymity and with great humility has prohibited me from telling our community about all that he means to the younger lawyers that have come along …

There are very few shops in the Chicago area where you can buy a live, three-foot shark. Then again, there are very few shops where the owner can definitively say, “This stuff is like a drug. Once customers are hooked, they are in my store every day.” The drug Mario Rubino is talking about is saltwater fish, and the store he’s referring to is Aquatica in Tinley Park. Ten years ago, Rubino took a leap of faith and pursued his passion. “My family has a grocery store, Rubino’s Italian Imports in Tinley Park, and I used to work there with …

Chicago has been very good to an entrepreneur from New York. Or maybe you could say a guy from New York has been very good to Chicago. Vince Aversano was born and raised in New York but credits Chicago with giving him the good life he has now both as an entrepreneur and as a philanthropist. Aversano started to enjoy the Midwest by attending Marquette University. After obtaining a journalism degree, he started his professional publishing career in Chicago. “I worked with Inside Sports magazine,” recalls Aversano. “I just applied as an entry level position in the editorial department, switched …

Did you ever consider going to an eye doctor to get into shape? That’s the latest trend in fitness, and it’s happening now in Lake Forest. Joyce Muni began her professional journey as an ophthalmologist, and she has been proudly serving Libertyville and neighboring areas in Lake County for 30 years. She is on staff at Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville and Vista Medical Center East in Waukegan. With her busy schedule, Dr. Muni sees many patients with a wide variety of ailments. “I’m a physician and very interested in the total well-being of my patients,” Muni says. “Patients …

It’s a big deal to have your new work premiere at the Steppenwolf Theater. Then again, Walkabout Theater Company’s Thom Pasculli has ambition and talent that set the stage for big things. As director of “The Wild,” he’s fashioned an experimental production you must see to appreciate. Inspired by the work of playwright Charles Mee and Walkabout’s physical training practices, “The Wild” is the world premiere of a devised laboratory theater performance that confronts distant realities and their infringement on our daily lives. But it moves, too, incorporates erotic dance and the dealings of seductive demi-gods as they encroach on …

The John Marshall Law School Alumni Association Board recently announced the 2010 recipients of its prestigious Distinguished Service Award. Three of the recipients are people from our community: retired Circuit Court Judge Nicholas Pomaro, Salvatore “Sam” Tornatore and Mary Ann (Iantorno) Hynes. The announcement was made by the president of the Alumni Association Board of this 120-year-old law school, Katherine Amari, who also serves as president-elect of the Justinian Society of Lawyers. The Distinguished Service Award was created to recognize graduates and their contributions to the school, the profession and to the community. These recipients are hard-working members of the …

Joanne Bratta’s work defines “calling” in a way that’s both inspirational and admirable. As the executive director of St. Mary’s Services in Arlington Heights, Bratta helps women deal with one of life’s most daunting challenges: unplanned pregnancies. “We do option counseling to help them make a choice on what they want to do,” says Bratta, who started officially with St. Mary’s in 2012, but has a professional relationship with the adoption agency stretching back more than two decades. “Option counseling focuses on what the woman wants, not what we want. We educate them about adoption and explain that it’s relationship …

His mother played piano, his father the bass — yet Joseph Genualdi always knew he’d blaze his own trail as a violinist. The incendiary moment dates to age 5, when his parents took him to one of his first concerts. The artists, repertoire and location escape him. Yet Genualdi (who paternal family hails from Altavilla Milicia, Sicily) remembers how the violinist left an imprint that, half a century later, still hasn’t faded. “After the concert I said to my parents, ‘I want to play violin, I want to play violin,'” recalls Genualdi, now 59 and a professor at the University …