Janice Mancuso

Italian American women have forged ahead in many fields. Selecting five was not an easy task, but the women mentioned might be considered pioneers in their fields.

Director of the Institute for Music and Neurologic Function, Dr. Concetta M. Tomaino is internationally known for treating neurological disorders with music. She is the Vice President for Music Therapy at Beth Abraham Family of Health Services and conducts lectures on music therapy throughout the world. Her awards include the “Award of Accomplishment” from Music Therapists for Peace at the United Nations, the “Touchstone Award” for visionary spirit from Women in Music, and the “Music Has Power Award,” recognizing individuals who use “the power of music to awaken and heal.”

Dr. Tomaino has been featured on 48 Hours and 60 Minutes, in programs on BBC, and in many books on health and healing. She has worked with Dr. Oliver Sacks, noted neurologist and author of Awakenings, who acknowledged her as “a pioneer in music therapy.”

Called the Dean of Italian American Writers, Helen Barolini, author of more than 50 literary works including Umbertina, is adept in depicting women in Italian American culture.

The granddaughter of Italian immigrants, Barolini has received numerous awards, including “Best American Essays” (twice), “Lifetime Achievement Award” from the Society for the Study of Multi-Ethnic Literature of the United States, “Sons of Italy Literature Award,” Americans of Italian Heritage “Literature and the Arts Award,” and the “Women in Literature” Award from the American Committee on Italian Migration. Umbertina, published in 1979, has been a mainstay in college classes that examine women and culture, and was reissued in 1999. Barolini conducts seminars about Italian American culture.

The First Lady of Italian Cuisine (Cucina?) and the Queen of Italian American Cooking, host of four television cooking series, cookbook author, restaurateur, and syndicated columnist, Lidia Matticchio Bastianich was the Grand Marshall for the 2007 Columbus Day Parade in New York City.

Born in Italy, Bastianich was 12 years old when she moved with her family to New York, and cooking was her connection to her grandmother. Bastianich opened her first restaurant with her husband; and ten years later, sold two restaurants to open Felidia’s in Manhattan. Other restaurants followed, and in 2001 Bastianich hosted her first PBS cooking show. In 2002, the James Beard Foundation named her “Outstanding Chef,” one of her many awards. Bastianich is a Board Member of the National Organization of Italian American Woman and founder of the Lidia Matticchio Bastianich Foundation, which helps indigent children from Eastern European countries.

The only woman, to date, who has been nominated on a major party ticket as Vice President of the United States, Geraldine Ferraro earned her law degree from Fordham University Law School, one of two women in her graduating class of 1960. She practiced law, joined the New York District Attorney’s Office in Queens, served three two-year terms in the House of Representatives, and in 1984 was nominated Walter Mondale’s Vice Presidential candidate. In her acceptance speech, she remarked, “Tonight, the daughter of an immigrant from Italy has been chosen to run for vice president in the new land my father came to love…”

Ferraro has written several books and occasionally appears as a political commentator on television news shows. She was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame in 1994. In 1998, she was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, and she volunteers to raise awareness of the disease. In 2007, Jackson & Perkins Company named a rose in her honor. Ferraro is a Board Member of the National Organization of Italian American Woman.

Concetta Rosalie Anna Ingoglia, actress, singer, producer, business owner, humanitarian, and better known as Connie Stevens, recently appeared in a public service announcement for the National Italian American Foundation promoting Italian heritage.

Stevens, who many may remember as “Cricket Blake” in the television series Hawaiian Eye, performs in concerts worldwide; has created a cosmetic line, Forever Young; and is active in humanitarian causes. She is founder of Windfeather, established to provide scholarship funds and other assistance to Native Americans, and hosts an annual skiing event in Wyoming to raise funds for disabled children. Stevens has received the “Lady of Humanities” Award from the Shriners Hospital, the Sons of Italy “Humanitarian of the Year” Award, and received “The Decoration for Distinguished Civilian Service” from the United States Armed Forces.

These Italian American women have made remarkable contributions to medicine, literature, food, law, and entertainment. I emailed Helen Barolini and asked, “What inspired you to begin writing about Italian American women and/or culture?” Her reply, “It was a question of identity, of exploring through writing who I was and where I belonged.” I can relate, and I believe for the women above, pertaining to their field of work, they can relate, too.