The Committee
Officers
Richard J. Vita – President
Richard J. Vita is the OIHM President and founding attorney at Vita Law Offices, P.C. He earned his undergraduate degree in business management from the University of Notre Dame in 1968 and his Juris Doctor degree from Boston College Law School in 1968.
He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Justinian Law Society of MA; Current Chairman, Commission for Social Justice (CSJ) of MA Lodge of OSDIA; Chair of Fundraising of The New Building Committee, Dante Alighieri Society, and a member in leading Italian American organizations.
Kevin A. Caira – Chairman
Cav. Kevin A. Caira is Chairman and Past President of the OIHM. He is the National 1st Vice President of the Order Sons and Daughters of Italy in America; a member of the Wilmington Sons and Daughters of Italy, the Wilmington Knights of Co;umbus and the Wilmington Kiwanis Club. Kevin serves on the Select Board for the Town of Wilmington. He was presented with the coveted Cavaliere Award from the Italian Government in 2007.
Salvatore Bramante – Treasurer
A lifelong member of the Dante Alighieri Society, Sal has held numerous positions including VP of Administration, Treasurer, and Chairman of the Board. He is a member of the Italian Heritage Month (Treasurer), Pescosolido Family Foundation (Treasurer), Pirandello Lyceum (Board of Directors), Freedom Foundation (Board of Directors), Sons and Daughters of Italy, and the American Legion. Sal is a retired account executive. He is a veteran of the U.S. Army, serving during the Vietnam era as a Section Leader at Fort Riley, Kansas. Sal received his Bachelor of Liberal Studies Degree from Boston University, graduate study in Public Affairs and Education at Boston State College and was inducted as a member of the Salem State University Chapter of “Phi Sigma Iota”, the International Foreign Language Honor Society. Sal received an award from the Italian Council of Ministers for his contributions in celebration of the 150th Anniversary of the Unification of Italy.
Francesca Seta – Secretary
Francesca moved from Pescara, Italy to the US in 2001 to pursue a PhD in Pharmacology at New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY. After four years of Postdoctoral Fellowship in Queen’s University, Kingston, Canada, she moved to Boston in 2010 where she currently works as Associate Professor at Boston University School of Medicine, leading her own biomedical research group on cardiovascular diseases. Francesca commits her free time to the promotion of Italian culture with her active involvement in the OIHM Committee, where she serves as Secretary, and with PIB – Professionisti Italiani A Boston, where she is part of the executive board for cultural and networking activities among Italian professionals living in the Greater Boston area.
Marisa Di Pietro – Vice President of Social Media
Retired, Dir. of Community Engagement, East Boston Social Centers; Past President East Boston Chamber of Commerce; Past Lt. Gov New England District of Kiwanis International; Board Member and Past President Kiwanis Club of East Boston; Past Secretary of Italian American Alliance; Board Member of October Italian Heritage Month
Nadia Di Carlo – Vice President of Development
Consigliere Nadia Di Carlo is in her second term as an elected Representative of the Italian Government’s COMITES (Committee of Italians Abroad ). She has contributed to the Italian and Italian-American Community for over 30 years with the forming of various organizations, such as Professional Italians in Boston, holding seminal roles in the Vatican Patrons, Friends of Italian Culture, Commission for Social Justice Mass Grand Lodge of the Sons & Daughters of Italy, providing strategic consulting for Italian/US firms and a holding a leadership role for the Italian Heritage Month Committee. Consigliere Di Carlo is a graduate of MIT and Wellesley College. Her professional experience includes Investment Banking on Wall Street, Private Equity in London and presently she runs a real estate investment firm. She finds much joy in her non profit work and in her further Board appointments.
Directors
Lino Rullo
Lino Rullo, born in Atripalda (Avellino) and grew up in Milano, from where he moved to the United States in 1966 at the age of 28; Co-Founder of the October as Italian Heritage Month, established in 1999, where today Lino still maintains a primary role and is a past president from 2002 to 2005; As soon as he moved to Boston, Lino started collaborating on Italian Radio Programs and a local Italian newspaper, Incontro; In 1992, Lino Rullo became the President of the Dante Alighieri Cultural Society of Massachusetts, and was re-elected for two additional terms. In 1996, the members bestowed Lino Rullo with the title, President Emeritus with Honoris Causa; Executive member of C.O.M.I.T.E.S. for ten years; In 2011, to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Italy’s unification, Lino held a special concert at the Boston Symphony Hall with a 65 member orchestra from Rome, and a full house of 2,500 attendees; In 1999, for the first time in history, a Prime Minister of Italy visited Boston. Lino Rullo and the Dante Board welcomed PM Massimo D’Alema with an event at the Dante Alighieri Cultural Center; Knighted of Cav, Uff, Commendatore, and Grande Ufficiale of the Republic of Italy; Married to Ortenzia Sarno in 1975, has three children and seven grandchildren.
Elaine Loffti
The daughter of immigrants from northern and southern Italy, Elaine Loffti is an alumni of Emmanuel College in Boston and holds a B.A. in Foreign Languages (Italian and Spanish). Raised in a strictly Italian household, her first language was Italian and after her first trip to Italy, discovered her passion to preserve and promote the Italian language and culture. While working in the healthcare industry for over 20 years as a Health Information Management professional, she always remained active in the Italian American community. In 1996, she co-founded FIERI- Boston, a local chapter of “FIERI”, (which means WE are proud in Italian), a national youth organization that fought to preserve, promote and educate younger Americans about our Italian heritage and culture where she served as secretary for four years. In 2017, she joined the OIHM Committee to further strengthen and cultivate her ties with the Italian-American community and currently serves as a proud board member, continuing to carry out the important work of preserving, promoting and celebrating our beloved Italian Heritage in Boston and beyond.
Florence Ferullo Guidara
I have been a member of the Order Sons and Daughters of Italy in America (OSDIA) for 63 years and in that time I have held many elected positions in the local, state and national OSDIA. I am most proud to have been the first woman elected in the 94 year history to the position of State President for the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts OSDIA on June 23, 2007. In August of 2025 I was elected the OSDIA National Historian. I am a member of the Italian Heritage Committee, Pirandello Lyceum, Italian American Alliance, Dante Alighieri Society, Women’s Veterans Auxiliary, Catholic Women’s Club of Winthrop, North End Historical Committee, and was elected the first woman President, for the Knights of the Don Orione Home in East Boston, MA. In my free time I provide care to Seniors, and serve as a Eucharistic Minister, and Acylate.
Gioconda Motta – Director of Education
Gioconda Motta, born and raised in Italy, immigrated to the USA over 60 years ago with a teaching degree in elementary education. She later earned a Master’s Degree in Education and a degree in English Literature and Italian from Lesley University. For more than 30 decades, Mrs. Motta has been a tireless advocate for the advancement and preservation of the Italian Language in Greater Boston areas. She was instrumental in establishing numerous after school Italian language programs across multiple school districts. These efforts led to the founding of C.A.S.I.T. ,Centro Attivita’ Scolastiche Italiane, the non-profit organization she founded , which works closely with the office of the Italian Consulate for the promotion of the Italian language in school systems). In addition to her deep commitments to the promotion of Italian language and culture, Mrs. Motta has long served the Italo-American community through her pro bono advocacy for families of children with special needs to ensure secure vital academic, emotional and social support services for these students. She continues to serve as a dedicated member of the C.A.S.IT Board of Directors. She holds the honorary title of President Emeritus, of Educational Consultant, and currently serving as Chair of the Educational Committee of Italian Heritage Month. Her lifelong dedication and service exemplify a profound commitment to education, cultural heritage and community advocacy. Mrs. Motta was officially knighted on June 2nd, 1999 as “Cavaliere Ufficiale” of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic, and honor conferred by the President of Italy in a ceremony hosted at the Italian Consulate in Boston.
Anna Quadri
Anna Quadri has been active in the Italian-American community for many years. She is a Past President of the Dante Alighieri Society and was also a member of the Board of Governors. In addition, she was past President of the Federation of Italian Organizations of New England and remains a member. For many years she has been a director of the Italian Heritage Month Committee and has been involved in the promotion of Italian language and culture within the Italian American community.
Deborah Tremblay
Deborah has been an active member of her Sons and Daughters of Italy Lodge in Wakefield for 10 years, and currently holds the position of Lodge Vice President. She has been serving for two years as a member of the Cultural Commission of the MA Grand Lodge of OSDIA. The Cultural Commission is dedicated to preserving and promoting Italian History and Culture through education, community events and shared experiences. Deborah and her husband, Mike, have three beautiful daughters. Her paternal Nanno immigrated from Giarre and Nanna from Furci Siculo. Both cities are on the eastern coast of Sicily.