Profiles

Neighbors magazine, published out of Melrose Park in suburban Chicago, recently celebrated its 21st year with a rare business model in the media landscape: a focus on positive news. That is largely the work of founder Tina Valentino, who juggles the roles of publisher, executive editor and contributor. She oversees all aspects of the business, including content, layout and design, printing and even circulation. “Circulation might actually be my favorite part,” Valentino says. “Walking into a drop location with a bundle of magazines and having someone ask for a copy ‘hot off the press’ is extremely gratifying.” Over the years, …

After nearly three decades of teaching religion, Roberto Costa has a simple replay whenever people mention retirement. “I say, ‘What are you talking about?’” reports the 57-year-old Costa, who has master’s degrees in divinity and theology. “I am very passionate about what I do, and I want to continue doing it.” Born in Turate, in Italy’s Lombardy region, Costa moved to Chicago at age 23 to study at Catholic Theological Union. After graduation, he ended up staying permanently in the Windy City, where he met his wife, Sandra Hou, who was born in Burma (now Myanmar) and grew up in …

A longtime government official turned political consultant, Enza Raineri helped save three cherished icons from the trash heap of history by adhering to her crisis management playbook. What’s an ethnic group to do when its icons are under assault? There’s the traditional approach, which relies heavily on anger-fueled protest marches. Then there’s the Enza Raineri way. If you were to codify the crisis management playbook of this longtime government official turned political consultant, it would read something like this: Get your facts in order: Be prepared to let them know exactly where you’re coming from and why this issue is …

With a bill establishing Italian American Heritage Month in Illinois hanging in the balance, State Rep. Anthony DeLuca pulled out all the stops to ensure its passage. In a political landscape that’s bitterly divided, Illinois Rep. Anthony DeLuca is an increasingly rare breed of elected official. “Anthony is a bridge builder. He’s a consensus builder,” Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans President Ron Onesti says. “His fellow legislators know that if their constituents have a need, Anthony will listen to them and do everything in his power to meet that need, regardless of their party, because it’s the right thing …

Trained initially as a typist and eventually as a medic, Emil Garippo witnessed firsthand the devastating impact of World War II as the battle raged down the road. Emil Garippo passed away on Aug. 21. The following article is based on an interview conducted on Aug. 8 and is published in his memory. Born in Chicago on April 1, 1923, Emil Garippo was the middle child of Emil and Jessie Tarsitano Garippo. The family lived on Arthington Street in Chicago’s Taylor Street Little Italy. Garippo’s paternal grandparents, from the area around Naples in Italy, and the Tarsitanos, from Calabria, lived …

A longtime leisure cyclist, Giulia Baroncini took her passion to the next level this summer by biking from her hometown in Italy to the Windy City. After cycling nearly 2,500 miles in two months to repeat a feat accomplished 130 years ago, Giulia Baroncini says she learned a great deal about the people and places she visited — and about herself. The 33-year-old native of Polesine, in the region of Veneto, followed a trail blazed by Luigi Masetti, who is considered the father of cycling tourism. After having cycled across Europe, Masetti accomplished the so-called “Viaggissimo” (the Great Trip) in …

Jeffrey Wittmus has no doubt about his purpose: to improve other people’s lives with his gift for dentistry. “What I do is heal people, and I’ve never stopped trying to master that healing ability,” the Chicago dentist says. “I love being able to take someone and heal their mouth or their body, or their general self-esteem, or health in general, because a lot of general health comes from oral health. That’s why I am on this planet — and I’ll do it as long as I can.” Wittmus, who has a doctorate in dental surgery from Northwestern University, has run …

  Get Carol Valentino-Barry chatting about the Socratic and case study methods of teaching, and you will soon fall prey to her infectious enthusiasm. Valentino-Barry is the executive director of Mentoring Mission, a nonprofit based in Chicago that works to bring mentors into high school classrooms across the country. Most of their mentors are graduates of Harvard Business School. The mentoring program consists of using Harvard Business School’s case study method, so students can learn dynamically, as a group, by reading and analyzing real-life case studies on topics ranging from Patagonia’s sustainability strategy to disaster recovery in Bangladesh. The exercise …

Dawn Marie Galtieri has devoted most of her professional career to nurturing Voice of the City, a small multi-arts nonprofit she founded 24 years ago in Chicago. “Our mission is to build community through making art and teaching art,” she explains. The nonprofit has a staff of two — Galtieri, who serves as executive and artistic director, and Christopher Ellis, executive producer and associate artistic director — along with about 20 associate artists. They currently focus their efforts on Chicago’s Logan Square and Roseland/Pullman neighborhoods, offering a variety of programming, including Design.Build.Grow.Eat. and UNITED Voices, both for teens. The nonprofit …

A bus driver with his father’s sightseeing company before World War II, Donald Ferrone played a key role in a unit charged with transferring materiel from England to Germany after the war. Donald Ferrone was born in Oak Park, Illinois, to Henry and Filomena Trimarco Ferrone, who were from the Little Italy on Taylor Street. He had one younger brother, Francis. Ferrone’s paternal grandparents emigrated from Salerno, Italy, and his maternal grandparents from Naples. The family lived in West Chicago before moving to Oak Park, across the street from Ferrone’s maternal grandparents. Ferrone proudly notes that his grandfather, Anthony Trimarco, …