The members of Branch 374 of the Italian Catholic Federation, a diverse evangelical and social organization at St. Bede the Venerable Catholic Church, unanimously elected Phyllis Serra Harb to a two-year term as president. They also selected two new officers of non-Italian heritage as key officers. Harb had previously served for two years as first vice president of the branch led by previous president Mark G. Mannarelli. He was reelected to serve as treasurer, and Robert DePietro was reelected branch auditor and financial secretary.

Elected First Vice President for the upcoming 2023-25 term was Raul Acevedo. A native of Cienfuegos Cuba, he migrated to the United States on Oct. 28, 1961 shortly after the Castro takeover of the island nation. He attended Cal State LA and graduated with an MBA from UCLA. He was employed as an Information Technology Architect at IBM and traveled to 12 countries in his work for the company. He and his wife Liela live in Sun Valley. They have two children, Raul Jr. and Lizette. His son Raul Jr. is a St. Francis H.S. and Annapolis graduate and a US Navy captain. He serves as commanding officer of the USS Stennis, a nuclear Nimitz class aircraft carrier.

Lila Woo Nastro of Chinese ancestry was elected second vice president. Nastro has been employed by Warner Bros. in worldwide logistics for 35 years. She graduated from USC with a BS in social work and a minor in psychology. She resides in Glendale.

Phyllis Harb was born in Germany to Joyce Schuessler and the late Samuel L. Serra, a retired captain in the LA Fire Dept. who served in the U.S. Army in Germany. Raised in Glendale, she worked in positions of increasing responsibility in banking and finance and earned an AA degree from Pierce College. In 1989 she formed Harb and Company, a local realty company that is part of Coldwell Banker Hallmark Company. She has two daughters, Krissy, who owns a yoga studio in Montrose, and Jinan. She and her husband George live in La Cañada Flintridge.

Past President Al Restivo was elected orator and past president Fiorina Murphy will become the organization’s sentinel. Josephine Barbera will again serve as recording secretary and Diane Restivo will be responsible for the various functions of corresponding secretary. Serving as trustees are Joel Wynton, Gloria McGaughey, Robert Barbera and Maria DeSalguero.

Harb and a newly elected slate of officers will assume their leadership roles of the branch on Jan. 1, 2023.

Submitted by Al RESTIVO