Assemblywoman Donna Lupardo, D-Endwell, was elected to serve as President of the New York Conference of Italian-American State Legislators for a two-year term.

Lupardo has been a member of the conference since 2005. It is a bipartisan organization of New York State Assembly and Senate members of Italian descent. The Conference mission is to highlight Italian-American contributions to the State of New York and to promote Italian heritage and culture.

"My parents would be very proud to know that I am honoring my Italian heritage in this way," said Lupardo, whose relatives were all from the Salerno area of Italy.

They hold an annual Italian Festival at the Capital, and sponsor a college scholarship competition which has been won several times by area high school students.