Fra Noi Embrace Your Inner Italian
Rose Mary Ranallo, president of the Women’s Division of the Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans, together with co-chairmen Judy Guzaldo and Phyllis Schoene, are proud to announce the recipients of the upcoming Impresa Awards, which will be held at 11 a.m. on Aug. 18 at the Medinah Country Club. The following women have been nominated to receive this award for outstanding accomplishments in their chosen field.
Dina Bair is an award-winning journalist who co-anchors WGN Midday News and reports the “Medical Watch” segments on WGN Midday News and WGN News at Nine. Dina joined WGN-TV as a full-time general assignment reporter in September 1994. Dina has received six Emmy awards, the Peter Lisagor Award and multiple Associated Press awards for both anchoring and reporting. She is also a past Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans Columbus Day Queen.
Karen Conti is an attorney and co-host of “Legally Speaking,” which airs on Chicago’s WGN AM 720 on Sunday evening. Karen formed her own law firm (Adamski & Conti). Since that time, she has engaged in a local and national practice of trial and appellate law in civil and criminal matters. She is a regular contributor and legal analyst on Fox News Chicago. She has appeared regularly on Court TV, Good Morning America, and Montel Williams. She publishes articles for various magazines, the Chicago Sun-Times and Chicago Tribune. Karen also has taught at the University of Illinois College of Law, Columbia College and DePaul Law School.
Stephanie Gregory, M.D., F.A.C.P. is a professor of medicine at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. and holds the Elodia Kehm Chair of Hematology. She was elected the first woman president of the Chicago Society of Internal Medicine from 1994-1995. She has received numerous awards throughout her career, including the Excellence in Medicine Award from Rush University in 2006, the Lymphoma Research Foundation’s Chicago HOPE Award in 2008, and Chicago magazine’s Top Doctor Honor from 2006-2012. In addition, Dr. Gregory holds chairmanships on several boards.
Mary Ann Hynes is the vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary of Corn Products International, one of the world’s largest corn refining and ingredient companies. She is an innovative growth-driven top management executive and a women of first. After earning her law degree she joined CCH Incorporated and rose to become the first women general counsel of a Fortune 500 company. She was the first woman member of the North Shore General Counsel Association and the first woman officer of the Chicago Crime Commission. After CCH was acquired, Mary Ann became the chief legal officer for Wolters Kluwer U. S. Corporation, a global information company.
Lisa Marino founded Marino & Associates, a boutique real estate law firm dedicated to filing real estate tax protests on behalf of commercial, industrial and residential property owners. She previously worked as a prosecutor for the Cook County State’s Attorney Office. Lisa was elected in 2005-2006 as president of the Justinian Society of Lawyers, the second women president in the organization’s 85-year history. She was recently elected to the bench in the Cook County Circuit Court.
Jennifer Rosato is the dean of the Northern Illinois University College of Law, and the first Italian-American female dean oflLaw in the United States. She is a leader in legal education and has a wealth of experience as an administrator and is a long-time advocate of active learning and professionalism. Under Dean Rosato’s leadership, the NIU College of Law has continued to excel and be recognized for its commitment to diversity by numerous organizations.
Kathy Scambiatterra is the artistic director and co-founder of The Artistic Home. As an actor, Kathy has appeared in many performances and most recently appeared in “Sweet Bird of Youth,” for which she received a Jeff Nomination. She has taught at the Steppenwolf School, Columbia University, Carolyn Berry Studio and many others.
Josette Mentesana Weber is one of the founding members of the Italian Cultural Center at Casa Italia in Stone Park. She has been an Italian teacher for 25 years. Her commitment to the Italian-American community was evident from the moment she arrived in Chicago, as a teenager, from her hometown in Sicily. She devised and implemented the first bi-lingual Italian curriculum in the Chicago Public Schools. In 2005, she was appointed chairman of the Culture Committee at Casa Italia. She is the driving force behind nearly two-dozen classes, seminars, demonstrations and social and cultural events at Casa Italia and the Italian Cultural Center.
