It was close colleagues who first introduced Ginny Kowalczyk to STAC. She loved networking with the community from the first event she attended and quickly recognized the value of STAC. 10 years after that first fateful STAC event, Ginny has become an integral STAC Board member who is instrumental in multiple STAC initiatives including the STAC Fund College Scholarship program, the Texas Hold ‘Em Poker Tournament, STAC’s ongoing support of The Night Ministry, and the STAC Young Professionals program that launched in 2024. Read on to learn about Ginny’s commitment to helping Chicagoland students advance their academic careers as well as how her STAC volunteer group became known in the community as the “STAC Mac and Cheese Crew.”
Who are your people?
I’m incredibly grateful for my 25-year tenure at Cboe, the friends I’ve made along the way and the multiple mentors in the securities industry who have patiently taken me under their wing to help me advance my career and extend my network. I’ve been able to lean on these wonderful individuals professionally and personally. Many have become like family to me, and family is a big part of my life and are the people I lean on the most.
Are there any notable projects or initiatives you have been involved in through STAC?
I’m most passionate about the STAC Fund College Scholarship program and STAC’s work with The Night Ministry, specifically The Crib overnight shelter for young adults. The STAC Scholarship Fund program supports the academic careers of deserving Chicagoland students and helps instill a sense of financial awareness and literacy. STAC was able to distribute over $54,000 in scholarship money to 18 amazing local students for the 2023 – 2024 academic year – and the goal is even bigger for the 2024 – 2025 term.
STAC also has a long history of working with the Night Ministry and its Crib overnight shelter to support its mission to provide human connection, housing support, and health care to those who are unhoused or experiencing poverty. Every month I join Geo Martin and several other STAC members to serve homemade meals to this amazing community. We’re known for our Sloppy Joes (made from scratch!) and mac and cheese – which earned us our nickname, the STAC “Mac and Cheese Crew.” It’s so rewarding to build relationships with these individuals and learn their stories. You get to celebrate the wins with them – like when they move on to the next level of housing – and be there to support them through difficult moments in their lives.
What is a project you’ve enjoyed working on professionally at Cboe?
I helped create and expand what is now known as the Cboe Global Indices Feed, a streaming data service delivering real-time index values to market participants around the world. I started working on this project in 2010 and helped grow it from 40 index values and just a few customers to more than 1,500 index values with the global availability it is today.
How has STAC increased the value you bring to your organization?
Being part of STAC has really helped me extend my industry knowledge, build an amazing group of contacts and ensure my organization is at the forefront of the industry. This year, we were honored to host the inaugural STAC Young Professionals event at Cboe Global Markets, which was such a unique opportunity for us to meet and support the next generation of financial industry talent in Chicago and shape a brighter future for our community.
Why did you want to become a member of the STAC board?
Over the years I’ve had several friends who were members of the board and I was always impressed by the work they were doing, which made me think about how I could contribute. I love that it gave me the opportunity to become more involved and push myself outside of my comfort zone. I’ve found more of my voice over the last 10 years as a STAC member than I could ever have imagined. It’s allowed me to focus on asking more questions and allowing myself to learn what could be possible. I’m proud to be able to support STAC in this way – and I am thrilled I’ll be on the board for our 100th Annual Mid-Winter Meeting in 2026.
What is your favorite STAC event and why?
I would say our Texas Hold ‘Em Poker Tournament is my favorite because we’re able to raise so much money to support the STAC Fund. 2023 was my first year on the Poker event committee, and we raised more than $40,000 to support the STAC Fund’s mission of philanthropy and education. This is our premier fundraising event of the year, and everyone always has such a blast competing in the poker tournament, playing casino games, and enjoying the amazing hospitality and delicious food from Gibsons Bar & Steakhouse. In 2023 we also partnered with Poker Power for the first time, an organization that teaches women how to play Texas Hold ‘Em to compete and succeed in business, finance, and life. We offered all tournament attendees a complimentary 45-minute crash course on how to play poker before the tournament began, and poker players from novices to experts took advantage of the session to learn valuable skills they can use at the poker table or in the boardroom.
Why is the STAC Fund important to you?
I joined forces with Patty Schuler, another STAC Fund Officer, to make the STAC Fund our pet project. From recruiting applicants to selecting deserving students for scholarships based on their amazing accomplishments, I love being able to give back to these students and our community. Thanks to the amazing generosity of our STAC community, we’ve been able to increase our philanthropic efforts tenfold in the last ten years and make over $500,000 in charitable donations and scholarship awards to support Chicagoland students that want to better themselves in their next educational endeavor. I can’t wait to be able to announce our Class of 2024 winners this summer and introduce the next inspiring group of STAC scholarship recipients.
What’s something other members don’t know about you?
I love cooking, especially from scratch! Every Saturday before Christmas, my family of at least 20-25 cousins gets together to make 600-700 pierogies from scratch. It’s always great to make memories with friends and family while cooking.
