When the Conference of Presidents of Major Italian American Organizations hosted an Italian American Future Leaders conference in January (see page 6), the Chicago area was ably represented. Pasquale Gianni trekked down to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to take part in the three-day conclave. While there, he was able to network with other young adults of Italian descent and share his expertise as the founder and president of the Avanti Group. “I’m proud to say that the Avanti Group is the only organization of its kind in the nation,” Gianni reports. “I’ll be working with young adults in other parts of the country to recreate our success as part of this larger effort to give our generation an outlet and a voice.”