L’ISOLA CHE NON C’È
EVENT JOURNAL
79TH NEW YORK ANNUAL GALA OCTOBER 7, 2024
The Chiarello Family congratulates the 2024 A Chance In Life Gala honorees!
Mark Birkhead
Michael Correra
Debra Lew Harder
Joseph Sciame
Sree Sreenivasan
79TH NEW YORK ANNUAL GALA
CELEBRATING ESTEEMED HONOREES
Mark Birkhead Chief Data Officer
JPMorgan Chase
Michael Correra Owner, Michael-Towne
Wines & Spirits Inc.
Executive Director, The Metropolitan Package
Store Association Inc.
Joseph Sciame President
Sons of Italy Foundation
Sree Sreenivasan CEO, Digimentors
Former Chief Digital Officer of NYC, the Met Museum, and Columbia
Dr. Debra Lew Harder
Radio Host/Announcer
The Metropolitan Opera
About Us
A Chance In Life empowers at-risk young people around the world with education and leadership development. This year A Chance In Life will serve 5,851 children and families in 12 countries across 4 continents. We provide children with education, leadership development training, housing, medical care, nutrition, financial literacy training and–most important–hope for a brighter future.
Our approach: Positive Youth Development
Youth education and empowerment are at the heart of our mission. A Chance In Life and our Partners emphasize Positive Youth Development, which fosters competence, confidence, connection, compassion and character development. Our approach ensures young people have the resources and opportunities to grow as leaders in their communities.
79 years and counting
Our story began in Italy in the immediate aftermath of the Second World War. Monsignor John Patrick Carroll-Abbing established The Boys’ Republic (La Repubblica dei Ragazzi, later called Boys’ Towns of Italy) in 1945 to provide “a chance in life” to vulnerable and orphaned children facing famine and homelessness in wardevastated Rome. In 2015 the organization expanded its mission to include at-risk youth around the world. We changed our name to A Chance In Life to capture this international spirit.
Since our founding, we have served over 55,000 young people in Italy, Ethiopia, India, Bolivia, Colombia, Guatemala, Peru, Mexico, Palestine, Uganda and Venezuela. We opened our first United States-based program on Staten Island in 2020. A Chance In Life’s work continues to capture the vision of our founder to educate and empower the most vulnerable.
Message from the CEO
Dear Friends,
Welcome to A Chance In Life’s 79th Annual Gala! Tonight, we celebrate our journey to Neverland, the magical place where lost boys and girls can find hope, love, and a community that supports them. Like Peter Pan’s Neverland, A Chance In Life provides a haven for children who have faced unimaginable hardships, offering them the opportunity to reclaim their childhood, grow, and thrive.
While Peter Pan’s Neverland was a single island, we are fortunate to work across many Neverlands today—serving almost 6,000 children in 12 countries worldwide. In these places, from Italy to India, Ethiopia to the United States, we are building communities that give children the support and resources they need to become confident young leaders.
What began as a refuge for boys in Italy over 79 years ago has grown into a global movement to empower vulnerable youth everywhere. And none of this would be possible without you—our donors, friends, and supporters. Your generosity is not just a contribution but a vital part of our mission, making it possible for us to expand our work and reach more children in need. You are a part of this journey, and I am deeply grateful for your continued belief in our mission.
As we celebrate this milestone evening together, I want to thank you for being a part of this incredible adventure. Together, as a successful team, we are building more Neverlands and giving more lost boys and girls a chance at a brighter future.
With gratitude,
Gabriele Delmonaco President/CEO
A Chance In Life
Program
Welcome Remarks
Gabriele Delmonaco, President & CEO
Clara Chahwan, Senior Vice President & Deputy
Presentation of Awards
Michael Correra
Presentation of Awards
Sree Sreenivasan
Presentation of Awards
Dr. Debra Lew Harder
Dinner
Student Speaker
Daniele Haczyk
Keynote Speaker
Guy Chiarello
Call to Support
CK Swett
Presentation of Awards
Joe Sciame
Presentation of Awards
Mark Birkhead
Closing Remarks
THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS!
The Chiarello Family
*As of September 27, 2024
2024 Honoree
Mark Birkhead
Chief Data Officer JPMorgan Chase
Mark Birkhead is a Managing Director and the Firmwide Chief Data Officer for JPMorgan Chase. In this capacity, Mark is responsible for advancing a culture of data-driven decision making and leveraging data and analytics to enable our customers and clients around the world.
Mark brings a strong record of building and transforming data and analytic organizations both in the US and globally. Most recently, he was the Chief Data & Analytics Officer for Chase and JPMorgan Wealth Management, where he was responsible for utilizing analytics, machine learning and artificial intelligence to deliver growth, enhance sales, marketing and branch distribution, and to improve the customer experience.
Prior to joining JPMorgan Chase, Mark was the Chief Analytics Officer at Santander US, responsible building the data and analytics organizations across five businesses, including the Retail Bank. Mark also spent 10 years at Citigroup in the Global Consumer Bank and Retail Services, most recently as the Global Head of Analytics & Insights for Latin America and Mexico. Prior to Citi, Mark worked at GE Capital and Wells Fargo & Company.
Mark has been profiled in publications like Forbes and MIT Technology Review Business Lab, and named to the DataIQ 100 Most Influential People in Data and Chief Data Officer Magazine’s list of The World’s Leading Enterprise Data Leaders and North America Data Leaders 100.
2024 Honoree
Michael Correra Owner, Michael-Towne Wines & Spirits Inc. Executive Director, The Metropolitan Package Store Association Inc.
Michael A. Correra has been the owner of Michael-Towne Wines & Spirits in Brooklyn Heights since 1995. This establishment, originally licensed in 1934 (License #63), holds one of the first licenses issued after Prohibition ended. As a third-generation liquor store owner, Correra continues the family tradition started by his grandfather, father, uncles, and aunt.
Since 2008, Correra has also served as the Executive Director of the Metropolitan Package Store Association (“Metro”), a premier trade association founded in 1934 that advocates for the political and business interests of independently-owned liquor stores across New York State. Under his leadership, Metro has championed several initiatives supporting New York wineries and distilleries, promoting local wines and spirits in retail package stores. Correra and Metro’s lobbyist work to protect retailers under the threetier system and public convenience and advantage licensing statutes.
Correra has participated in legislative roundtables and industry working groups to ensure the retailers’ perspective is considered in changes to New York’s Alcoholic Beverage Control laws. Recently, he served on Governor Hochul’s Commission to Reform the Alcoholic Beverage Control Laws, representing retailers statewide.
Michael was raised on Staten Island and is an alumnus of Poly Prep Country Day School, St. Francis College, and has an MBA in Business and Managerial Economics from Wagner College. Michael is a member of the Retailers Alliance and The Retail Council of NYS and serves on the board of Poly Prep Country Day School, where he has been a trustee for 22 years. Michael and his life partner, Ann Fortugno, who also works in the liquor industry with Constellation, live in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn and enjoy spending time with their niece, Gigi, and their families.
2024 Honoree
Debra Lew Harder
Radio Host/Announcer
The Metropolitan Opera
With doctorates in both medicine and music, Debra Lew Harder has practiced as an emergency room physician, and has achieved a fulfilling career in music as a solo and collaborative pianist, speaker, broadcaster, and educator. In the fall of 2021, Debra joined the Metropolitan Opera as only the fifth radio host in the company’s 94-year broadcast history. She hosts live broadcasts for Sirius-XM and the Met’s internationally renowned Saturday Matinee Broadcasts, and interviews the great singers, conductors, and creative minds in the world of opera.
As a music educator, Debra was the co-director of Medicine + Music, a co-curricular program at Sidney Kimmel Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University. She was on the applied music faculty of Haverford and Bryn Mawr Colleges for many years. Her commitment to the arts community included service on the boards of the William Appling Singers and Orchestra, the Advancement of Music Committee of the Presser Foundation, and the East Asian Advisory Committee of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Debra’s creative output includes numerous transcriptions for solo piano from the medieval, jazz, orchestral, operatic, and non-Western repertoire.
2024 Honoree
Joseph Sciame President
Sons of Italy Foundation
With more than 61 years of higher education experience, Joseph Sciame worked as the Vice President for Community Relations at St. John’s University from 1994 to his retirement on January 5, 2024. He began his career at St. John’s in 1962 as an Assistant to the Registrar and held many positions over the years. His awards from St. John’s University include the St. Vincent de Paul Medal, the President’s Medal, the Pietas Award for Alumni, and the Administrative Outstanding Achievement Medal.
His involvement in the Order Sons and Daughters of Italy in America (OSDIA) began in 1968 and he rose thru the ranks of various officer positions as a Local Lodge President, State President, and then National President from 2003-05. Serving in many capacities in the OSDIA prepared him well for the current role as President of the Sons of Italy Foundation, Inc. (SIF) for the past five years, in which he oversees the activities of the famed Garibaldi Meucci Museum and other 501(c)3 activities of the SIF.
Perhaps the core piece of his life has been education and advising young people, and in 1998 he became involved with the Parish of St. John the Baptist in Bed Stuy and founded, with six others, the Bedford Stuyvesant New Beginnings Charter School (BSNBCS). He completed ten years as Founder and Chair in 2021 and has remained on as a Trustee.
Close to the now A Chance In Life, formerly Boys’ and Girls’ Towns of Italy, Sciame was a close friend of the late Monsignor John Carroll-Abbing, who welcomed him as NYSOSDIA State Convention Secretary for many years. In recent years as a legacy to the late Monsignor and current President, he fostered the support of the American Foundation of Savoy Orders. During one of his visits to the Rome campus, he pointed proudly to what one building proclaims the “New York State Sons of Italy in America” site. All a memorable experience over the past 50 years!
2024 Honoree
Sree Sreenivasan CEO, Digimentors
Former Chief Digital Officer of NYC, the Met Museum, and Columbia
Sree Sreenivasan is an award-winning NYC-based expert in digital communications. He is CEO and co-founder of Digimentors, a digital, social, training & AI consultancy. He has served as Chief Digital Officer of New York City, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Columbia University (where he was a full-time professor of journalism for 20+ years).
He is the 2024 President of SAJA, the South Asian Journalists Association and since 2022, he has served on the board of Nobel Prize Foundation Outreach. In 1994, he co-founded SAJA, and in 1999, ONA, the Online News Association.
In 2020, the President of Italy awarded Sree the knighthood of the Order of the Star of Italy for his role in promoting US-Italian relations. In 2015, Fast Company named him one of the 100 most creative people in business and in 2010, he was named one of the 35 most influential people in social media by the Poynter Institute. In 2004, Newsweek named him one of the 20 most influential “young” South Asians in America, along with Kamala Harris, M. Night Shyamalan and Norah Jones. In 2014, he was named world’s most influential CDO by CDO Club. In 2012, he was named to a seed list of the top 100 journalists of the previous century by Unity: Journalists of Color.
Michael Correra and Ann Fortugno congratulate fellow 2024 honorees on their accomplishments and commitments to philanthropy.
Mark Birkhead Sree Sreenivasan
Debra Lew Harder Joe Sciame
Young Ambassador Board
We invite young professionals under the age of 40 to join our Young Ambassador Board. As a Young Ambassador, you will join our organization in an advisory role and gain exclusive knowledge of and access to our diverse range of programs, opportunities for personal and professional development, and the chance to make a tangible difference in communities worldwide. You can expect to engage directly with our work, represent our organization as an ambassador in your community, and volunteer at our impactful events and initiatives.
This is your chance to be a catalyst for positive change and help shape the future for young people around the world!
To join learn more and join our Young Ambassador Board, please visit our website.
Sustainer's Circle
MAKE A LASTING IMPACT.
We invite you to become a recurring monthly donor and join our esteemed Sustainer's Circle. By making a monthly contribution, you provide A Chance In Life with a reliable base of unrestricted support, enabling us to plan more effectively and dedicate more resources directly to the programs that empower vulnerable youth worldwide.
To join our Sustainer's Circle, please visit our website.
For recurring gifts of $50 or more, we'll send you a tote bag to say thanks!
Our Team
Board of Directors
Robert Iommazzo
Chairman
Managing Director, ZRG Partners
Mark Quattrocchi
Vice Chair
Principal Emeritus, Quattrocchi
Kwok Architects
Stephen Bellini
Treasurer
President, Broken Shed Vodka, LLC
Jeanine T. Margiano
Secretary
Partner, Windels Marx Lane & Mittendorf, LLP
Gabriele Delmonaco
President & CEO, A Chance In Life
Kate Bullis
Managing Director, ZRG Partners
Guy Chiarello
Chief Operating Officer, Fiserv, Inc.
Phil Guarnieri
CEO, Empire State Bank
Lawrence Nibbi
Chairman of the board, Nibbi Brothers General Contractors
Tim Tynan
Former CEO, Bank of America Merchant Services
Roy Van Pelt Consultant, Lathrop Construction
Staff
Gabriele Delmonaco President & CEO
Clara Chahwan
Senior Vice President & Deputy
Elser Llanos
VP of Programmatic Activities and Executive Director of The Village
Guadalupe Aguirre
Building Manager of The Village
Jaqueline Arenales Programs Manager of The Village
Sarah Barr Administrative Assistant
Shannon Chan Executive Administrator
Christopher Dowling Director of Community Engagement of The Village
Gabriela Pera Piscopo
Emilie Puzio
Realtor Associate, D’Amico & McConnell Realtors – Spring Lake, NJ
Srii Srinivasan
Chief Executive, Chargeback Gurus
Adrianna Stoiber Director of Development
Cynthia Valle Director of External Relations of The Village
Loziana Vejuka
Office Manager
