Fra Noi Embrace Your Inner Italian
Angelo Castanza has been elected by the board of directors to chair Casa Italia for a two-year term.
Joining him as fellow officers are Jo Ann Serpico as vice chairman, Cathy Lange as treasurer and Paul Basile as secretary.
A past president of the Calabresi in America Organization, Castanza has been a member of the board since 2014 and served as vice chairman from 2018 to 2020.
“I was assigned to the board as president of the Calabresi in America and decided to maintain my membership after my term was up, because I like the vision that the Casa represents,” he explains. “It’s important for the Chicago-area Italian American community to have a home, and it’s the mission of the board to make sure that Casa Italia is the best possible home that it can be.”
Humbled and honored to be entrusted with the role of chairman, Castanza has twin goals during his tenure.
“I plan to focus on outreach to local schools with Italian programs and to encourage the students to get involved with Casa volunteer activities,” he says. “I also want to maintain and improve current relationships with our member organizations.”
Castanza recently retired after working for 30 years in various customer management positions at the Coca-Cola Co., primarily with national restaurant chains in the food service division.
He lives with his wife, Vicky, in Bartlett, and they have a married daughter, Angelina. He remains active in the Calabresi in America Organization.
(casaitaliachicago.org)
