Woman of the Quarter: Michelle Iskowitz, Loaves and Fishes

The Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce and Women in Business are excited to honor Michelle Iskowitz, Director of Marketing and Communications at Loaves & Fishes, as our Woman of the Quarter.

Q: Tell us about your organization and what led you to Loaves & Fishes.
I began volunteering at Loaves & Fishes in 2009 and quickly connected with its mission. I developed great relationships with and admiration for the staff and volunteers and their level of compassion and dedication towards our clients who struggle to feed their families. I was an employee of Naperville CARES when they merged with Loaves & Fishes in 2016 and was thrilled to join their staff and to witness two well-run organizations brilliantly combine resources and enhance services for our clients.

Q: What do you love most about coming to work every day? 
The many people I see each day make my time special and fulfilling. I see kindness, gratitude, and community at work with our tremendous volunteers, staff and community partners/supporters who help us serve our clients. I thoroughly enjoy interacting with our clients. I am touched and honored to hear their stories. Their resilience and hope are both inspirational and grounding to what really matters in life.

Q: Name someone in your life who inspires you and tell us why.
I am very fortunate to have had and still have strong role models, mentors, friends, family and coworkers who have each inspired me each in their own way. The common traits I admire in them are the strong values of character, integrity, compassion toward others, and a strong work ethic.

Q: If you could have 1 extra hour each day, how would you spend it?
I would read! I have always loved reading and try to do so as much as I can. I enjoy reading fiction, biographies, books about personal and professional development, but my favorite genre is historical fiction. I used to get reprimanded as a kid for staying up late on school nights to read with a flashlight under my blanket. I was considered a bookworm in school!

Q: Aside from the Chamber and your work with Loaves & Fishes, how do you stay connected within the Naperville community? 
Our community is full of wonderful organizations and I have had the pleasure of getting to know people who put their heart and soul into their work. I enjoy supporting our philanthropic community by attending their functions and supporting their great work as often as I can.

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