The Sons of Italy Foundation® (SIF), which is the philanthropic arm of the Order Sons and Daughters of Italy in America® (OSDIA), named Admiral Ed Giambastiani as the first-ever Honorary Chairman of the National Education & Leadership Awards (NELA) Gala. The 31st Annual NELA Gala will be held on May 23, 2019 at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland.

In his final assignment on active duty, Admiral Giambastiani served as the Seventh Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the second ranking officer in the US military. While on active duty, Admiral Giambastiani held extensive operational and staff assignments including command at the submarine, submarine squadron, fleet, allied and joint service level. He commanded the following submarines and organizations in the Navy: Submarine NR-1, USS Richard B. Russell (SSN687), Submarine Development Squadron 12, Submarine Force U.S. Atlantic Fleet and Anti-Submarine Reconnaissance Forces, Atlantic.

He then served in multiple assignments as Senior Military Assistant to Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld during 9/11 and subsequent combat operations; as Commander, United States Joint Forces Command and as NATO’s first Supreme Allied Commander Transformation. Admiral Giambastiani was awarded 12 Distinguished Service medals. He most proud, however, of his 19 unit awards because they recognize the accomplishments of the entire team.

Admiral Giambastiani currently serves as a director on the board of The Boeing Company and THL Credit. He is a member of the board of trustees of the Oppenheimer Funds New York Board and the MITRE Corporation. He also served as the chairman of Monster Worldwide and Alenia North America.

Since retirement from the Navy, he has served on a numerous US Government advisory boards, investigations and task forces for the Secretaries of Defense, State and Interior, the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, and the Director of National Intelligence. He recently completed serving as a federal commissioner on the highly successful 9-member Congressionally mandated Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization Commission.

Admiral Giambastiani will serve as Honorary Chairman of the NELA Gala, a night that celebrates the accomplishments of Italian Americans, awards scholarships to the most promising students, and honors military veterans. Dozens of wounded servicemen and women, veterans, and their families attend the NELA Gala as special guests.

At this year’s NELA Gala, a special presentation will be made in which the SIF will present a $20,000 donation to Help Our Military Heroes (HOMH), a non-profit organization dedicated to providing fully equipped, adaptive minivans to our country’s most severely wounded, injured, and ill service men and women who sustained their injuries while on active duty since the start of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

For more information about the NELA Gala and how you can donate a seat for a military veteran, email nela@osia.org or call 202-547-2900.