As a leading member of the Italian American Women’s Club of Lake County in Northwest Indiana, Gina Geiss represents its values both personally and professionally. Through the club, Geiss actively works to preserve the Italian-American heritage and culture, and serves her community by volunteering at nonprofit organizations. As an in-home beauty groomer, she further serves others by helping to improve the lives of disabled and homebound adults.

Geiss joined the club in 2014 and quickly moved through the ranks to become an officer in 2016. Four years later, she was elected president, a position she continues to hold. Geiss, who lives in Schererville, Indiana, is a first-generation Italian-American whose parents and brother immigrated from Rome. She grew up in Chicago immersed in her family’s Italian heritage, but as time moved on, she saw that connection starting to fade, she says. She looked to the Italian American Women’s Club of Lake County to help her preserve that heritage.