Fra Noi Embrace Your Inner Italian
Accountant Lisa Perkins has stepped up to the presidency of the Calabresi in America Organization.
A member for 18 years, she joined to re-establish ties to her Italian roots. “My Calabrese grandparents passed away several years ago, and the Italian experience was no longer a part of my life,” she explains. “Joining a group whose members share the same heritage filled that void in my life.”
Perkins likens CIAO to an extended family of unique individuals with shared interests. “I like how so many varied personalities come together to accomplish great things,” she says. “Just like a family, we are each unique yet we have a tie that binds us, our Calabrese heritage.”
She has worked her way up through the ranks of the officers to the presidency of CIAO, participating actively in several other organizations while raising her two children. Among those commitments, she served as treasurer of the St. Thomas of Villanova Women’s Club and the Palatine Celtic Soccer Club, and president of POINTers in Person Chapter 1, an Italian genealogy group.
Perkins is honored that CIAO has placed its faith in her, and plans on dedicating her presidency to “expanding upon our already culturally rich events so that we can continue to inspire our members as well as attract new members.”
Perkins has worked in the Clean Energy Division of Arthur J. Gallagher for six years. She and her husband, Peter, live in Palatine and have two children, Natalie and Benjamin.
