IU Northwest Observes Women’s History Month with ‘A female executive’s journey’ on March 6, 2018

Violet-SistovarisIndiana University Northwest will celebrate Women’s History Month with an inspirational talk from Violet Sistovaris, a successful female executive and Indiana University Northwest alumna, who will share her personal and professional reflections of climbing the corporate ladder over her 30-year career.

Sistovaris, who serves as executive vice president and president of the Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO), will present “Empowering and Inspiring the Region: A Female Executive’s Journey,” set for 5:30 p.m., Tuesday, March 6 in the Bruce W. Bergland Auditorium, located in the Savannah Center.

During her talk, Sistovaris will offer key lessons in leadership, personal growth, and career management. She will share her personal story overcoming gender differences, remaining customer-focused and offer other reflections about working for more than a decade in the banking industry—valuable lessons for both men and women at any stage of their career.

She will discuss the nuances of managing one’s career, such as: “looking” the part, capability building, relationship building, and managing fears. On the topic of leadership, she will address how to maintain authenticity and influence while also working toward inclusion and diversity. Finally, she will guide attendees on how to simplify complex ideas and work effectively in the information age.

At NIPSCO, Sistovaris is responsible for operations, regulatory policy and compliance functions, while ensuring premier service delivery to the energy company’s 1.1 million customers across the state. Prior to her role at NIPSCO, Sistovaris held executive positions at NiSource, NIPSCO’s parent company, for 20 years. Before joining NiSource in 1994, Sistovaris spent 10 years in the banking industry, including her role as vice president of training and development at Centier Bank in Merrillville.

Sistovaris earned her master of business administration (MBA) degree from IU Northwest and her bachelor’s degree in business administration from Valparaiso University.

In addition to her executive leadership experience, Sistovaris co-sponsors NiSource’s Women in Leadership (WIL) initiatives, which includes the employee resource group DAWN: Developing & Advancing Women at NiSource as well as the Women in Leadership Mentoring Program. She serves on the board of directors for the Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana, the Indiana Energy Association, Northwest Indiana’s One Region initiative and the Indiana Chamber.

The event, sponsored by the IU Northwest Alumni Board, is free and open to the public. A question-and-answer session and a reception will follow her presentation.

For more information, and to reserve your seat, contact Paulette LaFata-Johnson at 219-980-6769 or plafataj@iun.edu.

About Indiana University Northwest
One of eight campuses of Indiana University, IU Northwest is located in metropolitan Northwest Indiana, approximately 30 miles southeast of Chicago and 10 miles from the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. The campus has a diverse student population of approximately 4,000 degree-seeking students and 1,500 dual-degree-seeking students. The campus offers Associate, Baccalaureate and Master’s degrees in a variety of undergraduate, graduate and pre-professional degree options available from the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Health and Human Services, the School of Business and Economics, and the School of Education. The campus is also host to IU School of Medicine-Northwest-Gary, which actively involves students in research and local healthcare needs through its four-year medical doctorate program. IU Northwest emphasizes high-quality teaching, faculty and student research and engagement on campus and in the community. As a student-centered campus, IU Northwest is committed to academic excellence characterized by a love of ideas and achievement in learning, discovery, creativity and engagement. Indiana University Northwest is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer committed to achieving excellence through diversity. The University actively encourages applications from women, minorities, veterans, persons with disabilities, and members of other underrepresented groups.