Q&A: New Lehigh Valley chamber board chair wants to move the needle forward for LGBTQ community
One of Mary E. Lisicky’s favorite movies is “Love & Basketball,” a 2000 film that features a man and woman who play the game through many challenges from childhood to adulthood.
“I think at that time, I was in high school, and being a basketball player, it resonated with me,” said Lisicky, Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce’s new board chairperson, who grew up playing the sport at Whitehall High School and Georgetown University.
It stayed with her as well, she said, because the protagonists figured things out, which is also part of advice she heard years ago: “Say yes, and figure it out later.”
She figured out juggling sports and studies in high school and at a Division I college, where she excelled in basketball while earning a bachelor’s degree in finance.
More recently, Lisicky has worked to figure out how to build a career as a certified financial planner at Morgan Stanley in Allentown, while grasping the roles of a spouse, parent and LGBTQ business and community leader.
Lisicky, who succeeds John Hayes of New Tripoli Bank as volunteer chairperson, is at 37 the youngest to head the Chamber board, and also the first member from the LGBTQ community to lead the business group.
Lisicky lives in South Whitehall Township with her spouse, Amber Simchak, and 3-year old daughter Edith. She was interviewed by The Morning Call about her new role:
Q: How do you feel about being the youngest Chamber chairperson, as well as its first LGBTQ chair?
A. To be the youngest is a tremendous honor, especially considering our previous chairs that I’ve had the pleasure of watching and learning from over the past few years. But to be the first LGBTQ chair is both very humbling and slightly overwhelming. Overwhelming in the sense that I hope I can make our LGBTQ community proud. I want to make sure I represent all of us, especially our Black, Latinx, Hispanic, non-binary, and transgender folks to the best of my ability.
Q: How and why did you start with the Lehigh Valley Chamber?
A: I got involved with the Chamber when they began an LGBT Business Council about nine or 10 years ago. I had no interest in joining what I perceived to be your ‘typical’ Chamber when I moved back to the area from Washington, D.C., in 2009. But when I heard about the new LGBT initiative, it obviously resonated with me. At the time it was still so scary to do because I wasn’t fully out at work. But the ability to meet people in this community at that time was something I couldn’t turn down.
Q: Have you encountered discrimination in the workplace or elsewhere? Would you elaborate?
A: I have been blessed to never have faced discrimination at work and, more importantly, always felt protected as a LGBTQ Morgan Stanley employee. But my experience is atypical. One in three LGBTQ Americans have faced discrimination at work, including 3 in 5 transgender Americans. And to avoid the experience of discrimination, more than half of LGBTQ members report not being out at work. That’s an incredible stat to me even in the year 2021. Not only that, but discrimination or even the perception or threat of it, which often comes out via microaggressions, adversely affects the mental and economic well-being of LGBTQ folks.
I tried hiding myself for as long as I could, and it weighed heavily on me every day I walked in my office.
Q: It seems the Chamber is ready for an LGBTQ chair. Do you feel that’s also the case for the Lehigh Valley business community as a whole? Has the Valley become accepting of LGBTQ business owners?
A: I know the Lehigh Valley has come a long way in terms of acceptance. But I also recognize we, and the country as a whole, have a long way to go. I know stepping into this role brings with it more visibility, and it’s one I embrace. I recognize I may be the first LGBTQ person or one of only a few that some people may interact with ever in their lives. So, I feel the weight of that at times when I am out at Chamber events.
Lehigh Valley chamber wants to break down barriers »
What drives me is thinking about LGBTQ kids who may read this article and see that they can be both a successful business person and LGBTQ. I also think about parents or family members of those kids who may read this article and see me and finally understand there’s nothing wrong with their son, daughter, niece, nephew, grandchild, etc., coming out.
Being LGBTQ is just one part of who I am. I am also a woman, a young professional and a mother. In the business world, those identities come with their own challenges to navigate. At the end of the day, I am just like many of our members and many of your readers out there. While the title of first LGBTQ chair is important to me, I hope at the end of my two-year term I am remembered as just another incredibly successful chair this Chamber has had in its history.
Q: It’s been more nearly 10 years since the Chamber began including LGBTQ as part of its “emerging councils” of business groups. How does that make you feel? Do you think the Chamber should have acted sooner? Are you satisfied where the Chamber has gone and where it is heading?
A: I think our Chamber and Tony Iannelli (president and CEO) do a tremendous job of navigating what it means to be a 21st century Chamber and, in my opinion, have been at the forefront of taking on those challenges and advancing forward in a progressive way. You can see it with our various Diversity Councils and now our new Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Collaborative. We truly try to represent our members and in this hyper-political environment we live in, that can be a challenge. But we haven’t shied away from it.
Q: What does a Chamber board chairperson do?
A: (Laughs). They help Tony. Tony says, ‘I’m his boss; I can fire him if I want to.’
It’s just overseeing the operation, which is a huge organization, with a footprint to Monroe and Pike counties, and more. It’s a big undertaking, but I’m ready for it.
Q: What goals do you have?
A: With our new Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Collaborative, I would love to see that really become a bigger force. I think our Lehigh Valley is ready for it, as are our businesses. We’re seeing that since the George Floyd incident. Much like businesses helped move the needle forward when it came to LGBTQ rights, I think that will continue for people of color and minorities. So I think there’s a role for us to play in helping our members, whether it’s through interaction with their clients, customers or retailers
Q: Obviously, you still have your day job at Morgan Stanley. Why did you become a certified financial planner?
A: Growing up, I had the pleasure of watching my father (Jack Lisicky) help individuals and families in so many ways as a certified public accountant and small business owner. When I graduated from Georgetown with my finance degree, I knew I wanted to help people just like him and, therefore, was drawn to the financial services industry.
Q: Having just passed June and the annual Pride Month, what does that commemoration for the LGBTQ community mean to you?
A: Pride Month, to me, is a celebration. It’s visibility. It’s about love and acceptance. And, it’s the ability to authentically be myself and a time to be thankful to those who fought tooth and nail to give us the rights we have today. It holds big meaning in our life. My wife and I, and now our daughter, celebrate it proudly.
