ANNIVERSARY GALA - National Italian American Foundation

Capri S. CAFAro
NIAF Youth Leadership Award
Capri S.Cafaro has been minority
leader of the Ohio Senate since
January 2009, and has represented
the 32nd Senate District since
she was appointed to the 127th
General Assembly.
Sen. Cafaro graduated from
Stanford University with a B.A.
in American Studies and from
Georgetown University with a
MALS in International Studies.
She has a longstanding interest in
public policy pertaining to health
care and the needs of older adults.
She served as an economic policy
associate at Global Action on Aging,
a nonprofit with consultative status
at the United Nations. She was also
a state advocate representative for the National Committee
to Preserve Social Security and Medicare and served as a
councilor for the Medicare Rights Center.
One year after becoming a member of the Ohio General
Assembly, Sen. Cafaro secured a leadership position as the
assistant minority whip for the Senate Democrats. In addition
to her leadership roles, she has previously served as the ranking
member of the Senate Finance and Financial Institutions
Committee and served on the Senate Health, Human
Services and Aging Committee, Highways and Transportation
Committee and the Joint Legislative Ethics Committee.
As a member of the legislature, Sen. Cafaro has also
served on many of Ohio’s special committees, councils
and taskforces. Such appointments include: the Ohio Arts
Council, the Ohio Rail Development Commission, the
Ohio Transportation Task Force, the Ohio Agriculture to
Chemicals, Polymers, and Advanced Material Task Force,
the Ohio Advisory Council for the Aging, the Medicaid
Administrative Study Council, the Unemployment
Compensation Advisory Council, the Unified Long-Term
Care Budget Workgroup, the Household Sewage and
Small Flow On-Site Sewage Treatment System Study
Commission, and the Joint Legislative Committee on
Health Care Oversight.
Sen. Cafaro was selected for a
national leadership role as a vice
chair of the National Conference of
State Legislature’s Transportation
Committee and the Midwestern
Regional Member of the Women’s
Legislative Network.
Sen. Cafaro was presented with the
2007-08 Legislator of the Year Award
by the Ohio Association of Advanced
Practice Nurses for her outstanding
contributions to the practice of
advanced nursing and advocacy of
health care-related legislation. She
was also honored as 2008 Woman
of the Year Award by the Liberty
Historical Society. In 2008, she was
named a Friend of Agriculture by the
Ohio Farm Bureau and was awarded the honor of being one
of the five MVP’s in her “40 under 40” Class, selected and
hosted by the Mahoning Valley 20/30 Club.
In 2009, Sen. Cafaro was recognized as Legislator of the
Year by a variety of organizations, including the Ohio
Speech and Hearing Governmental Affairs Coalition,
Ohio Area Agencies on Aging, the Ohio Farmer’s Union,
AMVETS Department of Ohio and the Ohio Corn
Growers Association, Wheat Growers Association, and
Soybean Association for her leadership and support of
Ohio’s bio products industry and Ohio agriculture.
In September 2010, Sen. Cafaro was recognized as a Home
Care and Hospice Hero by the Ohio Council for Home
Care and Hospice for her efforts to protect vital home care
services for some of Ohio’s most vulnerable citizens. She was
a 2010 Power 100 Honoree in Inside Business magazine.
Additionally, Sen. Cafaro was re-elected by her colleagues
to serve as Senate Minority Leader in the 129th General
Assembly. She also received the Ohio Jewish Communities’
Outstanding Leadership Award in May 2011.
Sen. Cafaro’s Senate District encompasses Ashtabula
and Trumbull counties, located in the Northeastern part
of Ohio.
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The 2011 NIAF Gala