Family, Service, Leadership: The Intersection of the Italian Experience and the Presidential Leadership Scholars Program

This January, the members of the eighth class of the Presidential Leadership Scholars (PLS) #PLScholars program will take their place in a leadership experience unlike any other.?Born out of a desire to inspire civic and social leadership, the presidential centers of George W. Bush, William J. Clinton, George H.W. Bush, and Lyndon B. Johnson developed the PLS program to help professionals in their field tackle global problems, hone their leadership abilities, and develop a network that spans traditional geographic, professional, political, and economic boundaries.

The 2020 PLS Class,

similar to their predecessors, yielded several exciting advancements on social, health, and governmental fronts.?While one scholar, Dr. Anand Annamalai , reopened a shuttered St. Vincent's hospital in a SWAT team approach to care for COVID patients, Priti Krishtel , Founder of I-MAK , is speaking across platforms like CNN and the New York Times about #patent reform to provide #equitableaccess access to medication.?In the midst of discussions of political divisions, the Chief of Staff for Governor of Arkansas (R) Asa Hutchinson, Alison R. Williams , has deep, animated, and heartfelt discussions with Dr. Christopher M. Jones, PhD , nuclear engineer and former Democratic nominee for Governor of Arkansas.?

It is within this group that the emphasis on service to others is at the root of all of our missions.?Whether it is a program to increase cardiac care programs in Rwanda like Team Heart, Inc. or providing mental health and support services to youth that have been trafficked like POETIC , PLS members – no matter the year or the mission – are linked by a common bond: to be in service to others.

It should be of no surprise,

when considering an organization that is founded on the belief of service to others, that so many members would have their roots in #Italy.?The seventh class of PLS was no exception.?With roots from all over Italy, the Scholars embraced the common feeling of gratefulness instilled by their families for being in the United States with all of the opportunities that it afforded them.?I spoke with a few members of the 2020 class about this experience.?Being interviewed:

Interviewer: Maria DeChellis Sr. Director Energy and Water Division, Oracle & Founder, AccessH2O

Michael Benedosso :?Chief of Staff, YouTube (Division of Google)

Mike Dovilla, Ed.D. :?CEO, USS Cleveland Legacy Foundation

Joshua M. M. Portzer :?Deputy Head, US Navy

Justin Barra :?Lead, Bonovin

What part(s) of Italy does your family hail from??

Benedosso:?My mother was born in her house in #Strongolagalli, a small town in the province of Frosinone.?My father's side hails from #Napoli.

Dovilla:?My paternal grandfather's parents were born in #Messina before they emigrated to the United States.

Portzer:?I'm a 2nd generation Italian-American.?My mother was adopted in Switzerland, but her birth parents are from #Milan.?

Barra:?My father's grandparents emigrated from #Padula in Salerno to the United States in the late 1800s.?

DeChellis:?100% born and bred #Abruzzese - #PacentroAQ , in the province of L'Aquila.

What inspired your desire to go into public service?

Portzer:?I was in love with studying philosophy as an undergraduate, but at a conference, I encountered what I would describe as a quarter life crisis.?I loved writing papers, but wanted to go 'do' a bit more before I made that my permanent profession.?I have a lot of?Navy in my family, so I decided to give that a shot.?While initially I had only planned on doing a short stint, I found myself in love with what the Navy both offered and allowed to do.?So here I am, 12 years later!

Dovilla:?Although I am the first in my family to work in government, I was called to public service from an early age.?I clearly recall hurrying home from morning kindergarten in 1981 to watch the inauguration of Ronald Reagan as our 40th President.?Starting in high school, I began volunteering with political campaigns. Over the past 25 years, my public service has included staff work in the US House, Senate, and three federal agencies, two presential appointments, and three terms in the Ohio?House of Representatives where I served as majority whip.?On the military side, our family has a long history of serving, which almost certainly inspired my service as a US Navy Officer, which continues even as I reach 20 years in uniform this summer.?

Barra:?My family has always talked about the value of public service. As immigrants to this country, my family always prioritized giving back to their community and country. My grandfather was the police chief of his hometown, and my father joined the Army to serve his country and then worked on behalf of labor unions to support living wages. As a New Jersey Italian American, I was raised in the Catholic church. My earliest memories in the church centered on service. Whether as an altar server or working on volunteer projects, we were taught that our gifts were given to us to be shared with others, to be in service of others. My parents always taught selflessness. We live in community, and the purpose of life is to serve others.

Benedosso:?Giving back to America was ingrained in me at an early age. My grandmother took a boat over with a young kid, no money, and no understanding of the English language. Years later, she would find herself with a steady job, a house with a garden, kids with multiple college and graduate degrees, and a sense of freedom. We owe everything to America and the opportunity it provided my family, so it’s only fair to give back. This started with my grandfathers joining the Army, followed by two of my brothers and I following suit by graduating West Point and serving in the Army afterwards.

DeChellis:?Pacentro is a small village in #Abruzzo that was from the 8th century.?Looking back that far and even when our village was ravaged in World War II when young men like my grandfathers were sent to the camps, the need for families to help each other in order for the whole community to be able to survive was essential, and it was through that lens that I was raised.?When our family came to the United States, that appreciation for the United States as the land of opportunity was so ingrained in me that it has been my honor to contribute in any way I can.

Do you feel that there is a tie-in between your Italian identity and how you lead or approach your work?

Dovilla:?Those who have worked with me over the years would likely attest that I consider fellow employees or volunteers to be an extension of family. My approach to building camaraderie and cultivating teams always includes breaking bread. I have long believed that more is accomplished at the dining room table than the board room table in terms of building culture, encouraging creativity, and inspiring achievement.

Benedosso:?Fueled by this appreciation and indebtedness, I continue to give back by providing opportunities of career advancement for military veterans and military spouses by leveraging the size and scale of Google. Currently, I lead Google’s global Veterans Employee Resource Group, VetNet.

Portzer: I can get very animated and emotive at work. A lot of hand gesticulation occurs. Other than that though, the two times I was able to deploy to Sigonella, Sicily, it took on a particular special feeling for me. It was as if I got to peer into a window of what my life could have been like, but of course, turned out very differently.

Barra:?As an Italian American, I have made every career decision based on the values with which I was raised: service, community, and opportunity. I have worked for the last 20 years in public education because I have seen it as the greatest service I can give to my community. My family has always valued education as a pathway to a fulfilling life, and I have spent my career working to ensure every child in America has access to a great education.

DeChellis:?Absolutely.?I treat everyone I work with as someone worthy of respect and I always lead with openness and networking to share knowledge.?My teams are a pseudo-family, and I can accomplish a lot over a meal and listening to a story about their families.?Finally, as I teach anyone who works with me, no job is above me and absolutely no job is below me.?If they want to work with me, they must share in that same sentiment.?

What has been the most impactful part of PLS for you?

Barra:?I learned even more tools for how to bridge differences and find commonality in everyone we meet. Our country and world are so divided, but it is only when we tap into our common values and humanity that we can make a difference. The PLS program challenged us to look for shared values and humanity in everyone we meet and to look for ways to build coalitions that can support positive community change, especially with those that are different from us.

Dovilla: As in so many parts of my life, the most impactful part of PLS is the people. Although our cohort experienced some unique programmatic arrangements that arose from the pandemic, I think the circumstances actually caused our group to form even closer bonds of friendship with and support for one another. Whether through ongoing alumni programming or informal opportunities we continue to generate to stay connected, I’m confident these relationships will only strengthen over time.

DeChellis: It was to meet these amazing people and hear about the work that they do and the way that they lead.?There is a secondary impact, which is knowing that as a result of the hard work of generations of my family, like my great grandfather Carlo, who attended three days of school in his life, that I was sitting in the room with two former Presidents.?

Benedosso: PLS was a wonderful opportunity to connect with a diverse network of public servants and leaders, trying to make this world a better place. Their various perspectives and backgrounds provided unique insight into areas of the world I was unaware of. Learning about their experiences has opened my eyes to new ways of approaching problems, and their ambition has motivated my passion to give back more

Portzer: It has definitely given me multiple refinement sessions on my leadership style and the importance of communication, for which I’m very grateful but most of all it is the people! It is the most incredible group of individuals I have ever met.

Your favorite saying in Italian?

Barra:?Technically Latin, but our "Barra" family crest from generations back is "Bono Vince Malum", which translates to "Overcome evil with good."

Benedosso: My grandmother saying to me “Che puzza” (pronounced “Che puuuuuuuz”).

DeChellis:?In Pacentro, my dialect, (in the province of Abruzzo):

"Quand c vo' c vo' ", translated, When something is necessary, it is necessary.?

Our sincere thanks to the champion of this article, Anita B. McBride , National Italian American Foundation Board Member, and the GEORGE BUSH PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY FOUNDATION (THE) Clinton Foundation , Mike Hemphill , Kinsey Clemmer , Sara Horowitz , Holly Kuzmich , LBJ Presidential Library, the George HW Bush Library and the Presidential Leadership Scholars Program for their support and assistance.