Newswise — New Haven, Conn. – The Connecticut Region of the National Organization of Italian American Women (NOIAW) will honor three of Connecticut’s most prominent and pioneering women at its eighth annual Epiphany Celebration brunch and silent auction event, on Sunday, January 15, 2017, at the New Haven Lawn Club in New Haven, CT.

Master of Ceremonies, U.S. Congresswoman Rosa L. DeLauro will present this year’s Wise Women awards to Sallie Vece DeMarsilis, SVP, CFO, Movado Group, Inc.; Patricia LoRusso, DO, PhD (h), Associate Center Director of Innovative Medicine and Director of Early Therapeutics Program, Yale Cancer Center; and Donna Palomba, President & Founder, Jane Doe No More, Inc.

Patricia LoRusso, DO, PhD, is Associate Center Director of Innovative Medicine and Director of Early Therapeutics Program at Yale Cancer Center. A nationally recognized expert in developing new cancer drugs through clinical trials, Dr. LoRusso pioneered significant advances in medical oncology, drug development and early phase clinical trials for her work at Wayne State University’s Barbara Karmanos Cancer Institute and the Eisenberg Center for Experimental Therapeutics. She is on the Boards of Scientific Counselors for the National Cancer Institute, co-chair of Cancer Therapy Evaluation Program Investigational Drug Steering Committee, and numerous committees of American Association for Cancer Research, and Society of Clinical Oncology. LoRusso earned her degrees from Michigan State and was awarded an honorary doctorate in 2015.

President of Connecticut Region of NOIAW, Jo-Ann Daddio Larsen, noted “The Connecticut Region of the National Organization of Italian American Women is proud to honor these Three Wise Women, chosen this year for their significant contributions to the community and impressive professional accomplishments. Their success is an inspiration to all Italian American women and they serve as role models to our young women.”

Proceeds from the Epiphany Celebration help to support NOIAW programs such as the Scholarship Program which provides financial assistance to students so that they may realize their dreams; the Cultural Exchange Program which sends young Italian American women on educational group trips to Italy; and the Mentor Program which pairs young Italian American women with established professionals.