42nd Anniversary Spring Gala

Growing Stronger Together

Growing Stronger Together

A nahi D e C anio

G iovanni A lexander F ernández D ueñas

PRESIDENT | OWNER La Fuente Restaurant and Bakery

LICENSED REAL ESTATE SALESPERSON Douglas Elliman | ArtyZen Homes

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B orn in Montevideo, Uruguay, Anahi arrived in NY as a child knowing only how to say “okay”. While working several jobs to help her family, Ms. DeCanio (born Regueira) became a financial advisor in her early 20’s and had a career in finance spanning over two decades. A quintessential entrepreneur, Ms. DeCanio headed her own financial translation and consulting firm catering to select clients in Latin America and the United States. She also headed a luxury home accessories line. She purchased her first investment, a multi-family house at the age of 22 and a second property at 24. Her Wall St. background and real estate experience serve to guide and advise her clients as a real estate advisor with Douglas Elliman. Anahi is also an award-winning artist whose works have been shown in galleries and museums throughout the country, and her work is part of private and corporate collections around the world. Venues include the Palm Beach Armory, National Steinbeck Museum, Brown University, Art Basel Miami, and the Consulate General of Uruguay. Her artwork has appeared in several publications, most notably The New York Times, Time Magazine and Robb Report, and has been featured in several motion pictures and TV shows. She is the founder of eco-friendly art and design event eARThHamptons and bilingual media company Enie Media Group. Anahi is involved in several community organizations donating her time and art when appropriate. She has served in leadership positions on numerous boards, most notably, the commissioning committee of US Navy destroyer USS Bulkeley commissioned in NYC soon after 9/11. Other board positions include The Boca Raton Museum of Art Artists’ Guild, The Art League of Long Island, The East Hampton Artists Alliance, and as President of the Long Island Chapter of National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals. In addition to her numerous art awards, honors include being named Hispanic Realtor of the Year 2019 by the Long Island Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. She was also the featured artist for the White House Fellows Conference in Washington DC in early 2016. When not devouring housing data, you might find her covered in paint or exploring with her Nikon in hand. Her most rewarding job is being mom to two sons, and a daughter in heaven.

iovanni Alexander Fernández Dueñas is from El Savador. He came here during his youth. He met his wife, Lorena Del Carmen Fernández here in high school. She is also from El Salvador. Together they have 3 beautiful children, two girls and one boy. Samantha is 18 years old, Sarah is 16 and Abraham is 13. Giovanni held many jobs in construction, factory cleaning, and telemarketing. He also worked for some time in real estate and assisted borrowers obtain mortgages. His life changed course however when a friend introduced him to the food and restaurant business. Through hard work and perseverance in the food industry business he now owns two restaurants, La Fuente and a Bakery, and employs 50 people. Giovanni thanks his mother who never abandoned him despite the fact that she lived in the United States for some years before he was able to join her. She brought her son to the United States when he was 17 years old. His mother fought hard to help the family achieve and move forward. Giovanni is also deeply grateful to his grandparents who raised and protected him. He gives thanks to God for helping him. Giovani is also appreciative of his wife Lorena who has always supported him.

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