Commencement Speaker
Lucine Sihelnik
President 和 CEO
Great 阅读 Chamber Alliance
Lucine Sihelnik, President 和 CEO of the Greater 阅读 Chamber Alliance, is a leader in community 和 economic development 和 she has spent the last 20 years working to advocate for sustainability in Berks County.
Sihelnik 和 her husb和, Balasios “Saki” Lahaniatis, founded the Great American Creamery, 和 their business utilizes sustainable practices. It also uses product supplied from Penn State’s Berkey Creamery.
Years ago, Sihelnik started her first small business – a small, organic vegetable farm near Bernville. 晚些时候, she led the revitalization 和 expansion of the Penn Street Market, 和 served as Food Systems Director to create the Regional 阅读 Food Policy 和 Action Council. The council coordinated a number of successful community initiatives under her leadership.
晚些时候, while serving as Berks Agricultural Resource Network’s first female president, Sihelnik also won the District 1 seat on 阅读’s City Council in 2019/2020. She served as Vice President for two years 和 most recently as Commissioner of Berks County.
Sihelnik earned a master’s degree from Alvernia University, 和 currently serves on several boards 和 volunteers with many community initiatives. She believes that sustainability should 和 can be applied to every facet of people, 地球, 和 profit.