Profiles

A skilled wealth manager and real estate investor, Robert Barbera is pouring some of his profits into the creation of a series of books that showcase Italian and Italian-American heroes. Robert Barbera founded the nonprofit Mentoris Project with the goal of publishing accessible books about the lives of great Italian and Italian-American men and women who excelled in the arts, sciences, film, sports, music and many other realms. Some biographical subjects are well-known while others are more obscure, but all overcame obstacles and made a difference. Most of the biographies are historical novels, the rest are nonfiction. The Mentoris Project …

Deeply attached to his Italian roots, Joe Mantegna has portrayed the best and worst of our community with equal commitment in the course of a stellar decades-long career in show business. Joe Mantegna has been a pillar of Hollywood and the Italian-American community for decades. His professional accolades are a testament to his more than 200 film and television appearances. Mantegna won a Tony and a Joseph Jefferson Award in 1984 for his role as Richard Roma in the Pulitzer Prize- winning play “Glengarry Glen Ross.” He’s also received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles …

As the incoming president of the DuPage County Chapter of the Justinian Society of Lawyers in Illinois, Kira N. Albrecht already has one goal: to bring back monthly or quarterly meetings held at restaurants, so members can socialize while enjoying appetizers and refreshments. “That kind of stopped during COVID, but I want to revive it,” she says. Albrecht is an attorney at the law firm Mirabella, Kincaid, Frederick and Mirabella, based in Wheaton, Illinois, where she focuses on family law and appellate litigation. Lynn Mirabella and Lindsay Stella, both partners of the firm, are past presidents of the DuPage County …

Jim Malloy, president of the Cesare Battisti Lodge, has enjoyed a lifetime of involvement with the organization. The lodge, which is affiliated with the Italio American National Union and The Italian Sons and Daughters of America, owns Villa Cesare Banquet and Events in Schererville, Indiana, about 40 miles south of Chicago. Malloy, who lives in nearby Saint John, Indiana, has been a member since he was a child, following in the footsteps of his father and his Italian immigrant grandparents. His great-uncle helped build the first lodge in East Chicago, Indiana. “I and my brothers and sisters were all involved,” …

While growing up, pediatric dentist Dr. Jessica Mattern watched her father, a general dentist, open several dental practices and enjoy the autonomy and flexibility of running his own businesses. She initially was set on a career working with children with special needs, but eventually veered toward her father’s profession after going with him on dental medical missions to Mexico through Latin World Ministries. “There were doctors, surgeons, dentists, and the people who were the most enthusiastic were the dentists — they loved every aspect of what they did,” she recalls. Mattern was installed as president of the Chicago-based Arcolian Dental …

Severely wounded by shrapnel during the Vietnam War, Louis Scripa Jr. battled his way back, establishing half a dozen fitness endurance records in as many years. 104,538 jumping jacks in 24 hours. 41,788 leg raises in 12 hours. 110,015 crunches in 17 hours. 133,581 crunches in 30 hours. 160,974 sit-ups in 82 hours. 70,715 sit-ups in 24 hours or less. If these sound like ridiculous, “there’s no way a person can do that” numbers, think again. They’re all fitness endurance feats accomplished by Air Force veteran Louis “Lou” Scripa Jr. between 1986 and 1992, and acknowledged by the Guinness World …

A rising star in the Fox News firmament, Rosanna Scotto maintains close ties to her Italian-American family and community. There is more to Rosanna Scotto than meets the eye. Not only has the host of “Good Day New York” been a lead news anchor at Fox-owned WNYW-Channel 5 since 1990, she’s also a pillar of the state’s Italian-American community. Born in Brooklyn, Scotto is a third-generation American, with roots to Calabria on her mother’s side and to the island of Ischia on her father’s. Raised in Brooklyn’s Dyker Heights Italian enclave by parents Anthony and Marion (Anastasio), Scotto was surrounded …

Having taught herself to sculpt marble, Jyl Bonaguro has set her sights on a contemporary re-imagining of one of the medium’s towering masterworks. For years, Jyl Bonaguro had a vision so clear it was almost haunting: sculpting a female figure in marble on the scale of Michelangelo’s David. Bonaguro, the current president of Chicago Sculpture International, is fundraising for her project to create Modern Athena, which has received grants from the Illinois Arts Council and the Cliff Dwellers Arts Foundation. Bonaguro tells Fra Noi about her passion for art, how she found her way to sculpting, and her determination to …

What started out as a brief stint in Vietnam for this highly decorated Army veteran blossomed into an illustrious 44-year career that encompassed a variety of roles in Military Intelligence and Civil Affairs. The younger of two sons, Darryl Chiostri was born at Cabrini Hospital to Louis and Mary (Doro) Chiostri, who were living at the time in an Italian neighborhood at 24th Street and Western Avenue. The family moved to Berwyn soon after, and then to North Riverside when Chiostri was 7. Extended family lived close. “When we got together for holidays, there were a lot of people,” Chiostri …

Tom Holleman may not be of Italian descent, but he’s as strong a proponent of Italian culture and traditions as anyone, starting with the venerable game of bocce. Holleman is the president of the Highwood Bocce Club in Highwood, Illinois, which the Wall Street Journal once called “America’s bocce capital.” Holleman grew up in Libertyville, Illinois, attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and got a master’s degree in information systems from DePaul University. He works as senior technology manager for Bank of America. He and his wife of 32 years, Michelle, met during a blind date in college that …