About Fieri

Fieri was founded in 1984, when two Italian-American College Club presidents in the Bronx -- John Calvelli, 20, of Fordham University, and Gina Biancardi, 19, of Lehman College -- met to explore the possibility of organizing and sponsoring events together. But, seeing a need to unite young Italian-Americans beyond the confines of a college campus and give them a place to call their own, they decided to take their idea a step further.

Although similar cultural organizations were already in existence, all of them catered to a predominantly older age group. Nowhere was there an organization for Italian-American youths between the ages of 18 and 39. Quickly, interest grew within the Bronx's strongest Italian-American community, Belmont.

The new youth organization was dubbed BIACA (the Belmont Italian-American Cultural Association), with Calvelli as president. Meetings were held at a small club, and BIACA's first dinner dance was held in the summer of 1984. In a matter of months, BIACA had become a smashing success, and an overwhelming interest developed throughout the area.

Soon it was obvious that BIACA had to be renamed to include a broader membership base, encompassing not just those from the Belmont community but people from all over New York, and perhaps all over the United States. As Calvelli put it, "Why shoot for the moon when you can shoot for the stars?"

As the founding members searched for a name for the broader group, they recalled that the 1983 Sanremo Music Festival in Italy had named Toto Cutugno's "L'Italiano" the number-one song. In it, the word "fiero" is mentioned frequently with regard to the singer's pride in being Italian. Not only was the word directly to the point but it was also a unique approach to naming an organization. Thus, the group's new name became Fieri, "proud" simply made plural, signifying our members' collective pride in their heritage, roots, and culture.

Four goals have always been at the core of Fieri's beliefs:

• First, Fieri strives to preserve Italian culture and encourages the study of Italian language and history.
• Second, Fieri fosters the value of higher education and personal achievement in young men and women.
• Third, Fieri attempts to assist young professionals with career opportunities and networking relationships.
• And finally, Fieri promotes a positive image of Italian-Americans in the media and in popular culture.

Over the years, Fieri continued to grow. Requests for information came from across the country, and in the mid-1980s, the group's second chapter was founded by Lisa Guelli at American University here in Washington. This expansion was followed almost immediately by the formation of Fieri's third chapter in Brooklyn, New York, headed by Dante Naccarato.

Calvelli recognized the need to take this concept national and, in 1989, the organization became Fieri National, incorporated as a nonprofit organization. Chapters have since developed in Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Connecticut, Detroit, Manhattan, Milwaukee, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Queens, Southern California, and Staten Island. And, at the turn of the 21st century, Fieri became an international organization, with a chapter launched in Toronto in January 2000.