Col. Christina Fanitzi lets her son, Christian, try on mom’s uniform hat
MID-HUDSON – Milton native Christina Fanitzi has been crowned Mrs. New York America 2025 earning her the opportunity to represent the Empire State at the Mrs. America pageant in August.
The wife and mother is also a 22-year veteran of the Army – currently a with the rank of colonel – who has served in Iraq and Afghanistan, but she is using her new role to shine a spotlight on Spina Bifida awareness and family advocacy.
Her 2 ½ -year-old son, Christian, was born with Spina Bifida-Myelonmenigocele and Hydrocephalus, conditions that affect mobility, continence, and cognitive development.
“Amidst all of this I found pageantry, and it’s definitely a left turn for an army officer, but it allowed me to turn my adversity into action and it drove me to turn pain into purpose and get involved in the community and it became an avenue where I could put my oxygen mask on first and breath life into my family and this community and into myself,” she said.
Colonel Fanitzi is currently an active-duty military intelligence officer serving at West Point as the 2nd Regiment tactical officer, mentoring future military leaders.
She is also a Bronze Star recipient and a former White House Fellow.
She is not alone in the military. Her husband is an active duty marine serving at the Stewart Air National Guard Base in Newburgh.