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italian-american heritage month

TV ad exec 'All-Star' and UMMC chair of surgery to be honored next week by Paolo Busti Cultural Foundation

By Billie Owens

Jacqueline Corbelli

Submitted photos; bios and event information from the Paolo Busti Cultural Foundation:

October is National Italian-American Heritage Month and also the month that Paolo Busti was born, on the 17th actually, in 1749. He established the Batavia office of the Holland Land Company, and was its principal agent starting in 1800 until his death in the summer of 1824.

The native of Milan, Italy, is of course the namesake of the Batavia-based Paolo Busti Cultural Foundation, which holds a fall fundraiser every year honoring two outstanding movers and shakers in the local Italian-American community.

The feast funds one of the deepest scholarship coffers for high school seniors in Genesee County: all proceeds go into it.

This year, the foundation honors Jacqueline Corbelli and Dr. Matthew J. Landfried.

They will be feted at a sit-down Italian dinner, replete with Cannoli cake, at Terry Hills Banquet Facility next Wednesday, Oct. 10. It is located at 5120 Clinton Street Road in Batavia.

Cash bar opens at 6 p.m.; dinner is at 6:30.

Tickets are $30 each. For reservations, tickets or more information, call Michelle Fuller at (585) 768-7016.

Tickets are also available at: Ben’s Appliance, Kitchen and Bath at 634 E. Main St. in Batavia; V.J. Gautieri Constructors Inc. at 45 Liberty St. in Batavia; and from Paolo Busti Cultural Foundation board members.

About Jacqueline Corbelli

Jacqueline is the daughter of the late Octavio ("Tubby") Corbelli and Patricia Panepento. Her stepfather was the late Alfred Panepento. Her paternal grandfather, Carlo Corbelli came from Camarda, Province of L’Aquilla, Italy in 1920, and her grandmother, Dominica, came from Tacca, Assergi, Italy, at age 7. They married in 1921 and had 14 children!

Her maternal grandparents were the late Anthony and Catherine (Pricola) Gringer. Her grandmother’s family came from Rocconova, in the Naples region. As the matriarch of Jacquie’s family, Catherine was not just her maternal grandmother, but a rock of guidance and steady support in her life that Jacquie credits for her steely will and determination to both personally succeed, and for bringing kindness and Italian passion to her family and community.

Jacquie graduated from Batavia High School in 1982. She was named Batavia High School Graduate of Distinction in 2008 and is a proud member of the NYC Italian Gun Club, Tiro a Segmo, in Greenwich Village. She married her husband, Mark Joseph Modzelewski, in 1990. They are the proud parents of Kaitlyn Rose, 19, Kristiana Grace, 17, and Alexandra Maria, 14.

Jacqueline is a transformational leader that drives positive business growth and societal change. She tackles issues that redefine industry verticals, reshape culture and rebuild communities.

As the CEO, founder and chairman of BrightLine, Jacqueline built and continues to lead a technology platform company that ushered in the reinvention of television advertising from 30-second interruptive spots to immersive, interactive units. BrightLine is the cornerstone of advanced TV advertising and interactive content for all of America’s leading broadcasters, including NBCU, ABC/Disney, CBS, and Fox, among others.

What drew her to advanced TV advertising was the sweeping change being ushered in by the Internet and digital technologies. As an astute executive, she saw the prospect that shifting consumer behaviors held for media platforms and brands and the opportunity to put her change management skills to work to help redefine the relationship between the two.

Before BrightLine, Jacqueline served as president of Aston Associates, the leading advisory firm for financial institutions and their investors.

Jacqueline applies her transformational change methodologies outside of business and into the world of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) Jacqueline served as chairman of the board of Millennium Promise, overseeing integrated economic development work in 10 countries across Sub-Saharan Africa from 2005-2015. Millennium Promise was the leading international nonprofit organization solely committed to accelerating the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals and the eradication of extreme poverty, hunger and preventable disease.

Jacqueline serves in leadership roles for both the United Nations and the Vatican. She is extensively involved in the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, where she sits on the board of The Sustainable Development Goals Center of Africa and she leads an effort to guide women CEOs in 10 countries and provides strategic oversight on development bank reform in the countries of Rwanda and Uganda.

She is also a Leadership Council member of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network, and a governor at the New York Academy of Sciences.  Jacqueline also plays a leading role for the Vatican as a founding member of Pope Francis’ Ethics in Action Forum created under the auspices of the Vatican’s Pontifical Academy of Sciences, where she assists the Vatican to identify how technology, media and data can generate justice in society.

Throughout her career Jacqueline has been recognized for her important achievements. In 2017 alone Jacqueline was named as one of Adweek’s Disruptors, a Broadcasting and Cable Digital All-Star, a Cynopsis Top Woman in Digital and New York Business Journal’s Woman of Influence. 

Jacqueline frequently publishes and speaks on her work in business and NGOs. She shared her extensive expertise and learnings as the author of “REVEALED: Thoughts on the Connected Television Ad Revolution,” published in 2014. She followed her first book with a collection of articles she wrote in 2017 titled “TVTOPIA.” Jacqueline provides industry knowledge regularly in articles and on the airwaves of Variety, The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg Radio, Business Insider and Advertising Age.

Jacqueline sits on numerous boards, including the Atlantic Theater Company, International Radio and Television Society, Second Curve Capital, Luminari Capital, Women’s Voices for Change, and NBCU Women’s Advisory Board.

Jacqueline received her master’s in International Banking, Business, and Finance from Columbia University.

Dr. Matthew J. Landfried

About Dr. Matthew J. Landfried

Dominic and Vincenza Rizzitti Greco immigrated to Pennsylvania from Calabria, Italy, in 1903, beginning Dr. Matthew J. Landfried’s deep connection to his Italian heritage through his great-grandparents. Matt was raised in Greenville, Pa., strongly influenced by his Italian mom with lots of tradition, stemming from his rich ancestry.

Matt has made two recent trips to connect with his Greco family relatives in Calabria, and of course to experience some amazing food and wine! On recent visits there, Matt was excited to spend time with cousins – to whom he bears a strong resemblance.

He graduated from Temple University School of Medicine in 1985; spent the next few years at Hamot Medical Center completing his residency in Orthopedic Surgery; and joined the Batavia community in 1990. Matt is currently the medical director of Surgical Services, and chairman of the Department of Surgery at UMMC as well as serving on multiple committees at UMMC and its partner Rochester Regional Health.

Dr. Landfried is an Adjunct Professor at LECOM Medical School and D’Youville College and mentors PA students, medical students and residents.  Professionally, Matt is well respected in his field and has been published in multiple medical journals. Among other honors, Dr. Landfried has been named a “Top Doctor” by U.S. News & World Report.

He is a member of the HHS (NDMS) Trauma and Critical Care response team. Through this volunteer commitment, Matt has spent significant time in Haiti, Texas, and other disaster sites supporting the critical medical need of communities struck by disaster. He has recently returned from continuous training and was certified in Bio Chemical/Medical Hazmat Preparedness.

Dr. Landfried is the medical lead for several area sports programs including the Batavia City School District and Notre Dame High School, as well as assisting with various sports medicine needs at Genesee Community College. He donates his time, and often medical assistance, outside of the office to athletes in need.

On a larger scale, Matt has served as an orthopedist for the Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals and Florida Marlins, both at the local Muckdogs level and at the higher professional tier. He and his wife, Kerry, have hosted several baseball players on our Batavia farm team over the years and have maintained long-lasting relationships with those who had the pleasure of being welcomed by the Landfrieds while playing in Batavia.

Personally, Matt and Kerry are the proud parents of two children -- Bekah and Matthew, as well as their “unofficially adopted son” Jermaine. He and Kerry have been married for 36 years and he proudly states that his family is his most valuable treasure.

Family is a theme for Matt and the stories of him helping a family in medical need are endless -- and not simply as a doctor – but as the person who has helped the whole family through the difficult times that often surround older relatives, young ones or just everyday injuries. If there is an athlete, elderly person, or anyone of any age that needs an orthopedic surgeon, Matt turns no one away.

His office staff would tell you that he adds long hours to their days by squeezing in friends, before or after hours. The thing is, with Matt being Italian, everyone he meets is “family” and you treat family well -- always! Home visits, special treatment and donations for whatever is needed, are his daily focus. He is not simply a doctor in business; he is a talented, compassionate man who has made it his business to use his gift to help his community.

Throughout Matt’s 28 years in our area, he and Kerry have financially supported too many causes to mention; he has physically shown up – FOR YEARS -- to support young athletes on hours upon hours of donated time; and stayed in the background of the causes he passionately believes in such as our local hospital, his local church, The Ricky Palermo Foundation (to name a few) – while selflessly donating his time, talent and treasure. Our community is infinitely enriched by the presence of Dr. Matthew J. Landfried.

The good doctor is also an apiarist and viticulturist. In his small amount of free time, he can be seen in his beekeeper suit tending to his hives or picking grapes in his garden for homemade red wine. Winemaking is certainly a passion rooted in his Italian genes, and Matt’s yard mimics that of his great-grandfather’s with grapevines, chestnut and fruit trees. Also, like Grandpa Greco – Matt generously shares his wine with friends and proudly boasts about his Italian heritage!

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