Gigi Callaway said she is lucky to have been selected
as a 2010 fellow for the Illinois Lincoln Excellence in
Public Service Series — but she should not be surprised.
One of eight women selected statewide this year to
participate in the program, which trains and mentors
up-and-coming Republican women in Illinois, Callaway has
spent most of her adult life in the service of others.
Retired from the U.S. Navy as a Navy Counselor First
Class after 20 years of service, Callaway is currently
an analyst for Cook County Commissioner Tony Peraica. As
a civilian, she was the first female executive at
Fulton Industries as human resources director. She
then moved on to Cook County Provident Hospital’s human
resources department, where she worked in labor
relations and corporate compliance.
She’s a former crisis hot line counselor, former vice
president for the Illinois Delegation Suburban
Association, former director and vice president of St.
Joseph High School Hockey Team, and current member of
American Legion, Robert E Coulter Jr., Post 1941.
As for her selection, Callaway said it was an honor.
“ I feel very privileged to be among the women who
have served as Fellows,” she said.
Notable
• She has also served as election judge coordinator,
member of the La Grange Park Caucus, former deputy
committeeman for Proviso Township and served in a
leadership role on the 2009 Cook County Republican Party
Convention Committee.
& quotable
“My primary goal is to rally women into the political
spotlight,” Callaway said. “I think women have a lot to
offer. The future of women in the Republican Party has
never been better.”
By
Joe Sinopoli, jsinopoli@mysuburbanlife.com