Crossroads Chamber celebrates Bubbles and Boots for the Women in Leadership Development Committee of Northwest Indiana

Women throughout the Region and the Crossroads Northwest Indiana Chamber came together to celebrate female empowerment and leadership on Thursday, February 19. The Bubbles and Boots event welcomed women from various businesses for an event that was presented by the Women in Leadership Development (WILD) committee.

Katie Holderby, a member of the Crossroads Chamber exec board, is thrilled to work with the WILD committee for this celebration of women.

“The committee was formed on strategic planning, and it has grown significantly in the past two years,” Holderby said. “It’s a great cause, and we’re glad to be able to support it.”

Michelle Czysczon, manager at Latitude Commercial, has been looking forward to the Bubbles and Boots event since the holiday season.

“This is the best time of year for us to have our Bubbles and Boots event,” Czysczon said. “We really wanted to do something to bring women together, network, and have a good time.”

While the WILD committee started out as a way to make sure women are financially respected in the workplace, it has since grown to become an inclusive outlet to address the questions of women in the community.

“The WILD committee is super important to us,” Czysczon said. “Our main focus originally was about the pay disparity between men and women in Indiana, specifically in Lake County. That’s one of the reasons why we started the committee, and from there, we sort of evolved to encompass other topics as well. We’ve focused on things that women encounter, managing home life and work life, making time for yourself with children, and more everyday things. It helps us learn from the habits that other women might have.”

Pay disparity is one of the many struggles that women frequently face. The WILD committee brings these struggles to the center stage and connects with the women to help alleviate these issues.

“We know that women struggle, so the WILD committee is focused on helping these women succeed and move up in the chain of command at work,” Czysczon said. “We want to help them with these struggles; we want to ensure that they can get promoted and get paid on par with their male co-workers.”

Molly Klein, owner of Molly Klein Design, attributes the impact of the WILD committee for allowing her business to maximize its value.

“It’s nice that we can all be here and welcome the community to show them how we are empowering women,” Klein said. “We’ve been talking about resilience and mental health in the workplace, along with creating friendships. This opportunity has also allowed us to grow our businesses. I am a business owner who works from home, so it’s especially important for those of us who work remotely to connect and talk to other women who are business owners or entrepreneurs.”

Each attendee walked in and received a topic card to open up the floor for women to network with someone they might not know and learn about what does or doesn’t work for each person. The goal with this networking event is to allow women to succeed on both a personal and professional level.

“Collectively, we can find ways to change things up, improve, and move in the right direction,” Holderby said. “There are plenty of women here who are influential leaders and decision makers who have helped shape the way we live, work, and play in Northwest Indiana.”

The WILD committee is an initiative that first started in 2024. While the committee continues to broaden its reach to women throughout Northwest Indiana, the women of Lake County have been positively impacted by this team. The WILD committee started with the Crossroads Chamber, and the goal is to continue sharing the message with local communities.

“With women owning over 42% of businesses in Northwest Indiana and earning only 68 cents for every dollar their male counterparts make, we knew it was time to take action,” said Deann Patena, CEO and President of Crossroads Chamber. “We are excited for what’s ahead, and grateful for all of the support so far.”

For more information on the Crossroads Chamber, you can visit crossroadschamber.org.