Goshen Theater hosts luncheon as part of worldwide event

Mar. 8—GOSHEN — Five women spoke to a crowd at the Goshen Theater Friday in celebration of International Women's Day.

The event featured a luncheon and talks by five area women professionals — Indiana State Director at Lochmueller Group Susan Al-Abbas, Yolo Lopez DeMarco, former Goshen Community Relations Commission Sandra McMasters, Oaklawn Mental Health liaison Lindsey Monge, and Executive Director of First Light Mission Mindy Moorehead, speaking on their take on inclusion.

Lopez DeMarco recounted her life as an immigrant, her experiences in school, working in the professional sector as a woman, and being a mother.

"The number one word that comes to my mind on this day is 'resiliency,'" Lopez DeMarco said.

She spoke of her mother, who immigrated to the United States as a single mother, and attended the career center to ultimately become a salon owner, and worked to gain U.S. citizenship through it all.

"Being an immigrant taught me resiliency at 6 years old," Lopez DeMarco said. "I had to no option but to thrive in this country, away from what I knew. I'm not saying that I've figured everything out because I haven't, but thanks to my experiences I'm able to get up at 5 a.m. to go to the gym, or not give up when a client chooses a male-led company versus mine."

Lopez DeMarco said women need to focus on using their time in ways that matter and listening to their bodies.

"When you're tired or you can't focus or you're lacking energy, give yourself some grace and take a break," she said. "When you feel like writing a 2,500-page paper, then go ahead and do it. Our bodies are always giving us signals."

Lopez DeMarco said she's working to teach her daughters not to give up and that it's important to be different, even when you're involved in other groups.

She reminded those in attendance to love themselves as they are and give space when needed, focus on the type of time and not the amount, take challenges, and not compare to others' lives.

Another immigrant woman, Goshen Community Relations Commission Sandra McMasters, talked about what it means to be a woman and being raised by a single mom before immigrating to the United States in 1998.

"These years taught me that no matter how much we have, we always have something to share, to contribute, with one another," she said.

McMasters recalled moving to the United States as a teen and failing her driving test many times at 18 years old.

McMasters stayed home with her children, but she eventually went back to college and achieved a Master's degree.

"We ask people to help us," she said. "Being inclusive means participating, lending a hand, and helping. It doesn't matter how many times you've tried, we persevere. We uphold each other."

Indiana State Director at Lochmueller Group Susan Al-Abbas wasn't an immigrant, but raised in a rural community by an Iraqi scientist and a German-Irish entrepreneur, she felt out-of-place as a child.

In college, Al-Abbas learned that she had a passion for civil engineering, and went on to work for St. Joseph County, and became the county's engineer.

"Even though I had all these accomplishments, it was hard to be recognized as a leader," she said. "There were many times when I was on a project site that I had someone come up and they'd be like 'Where is the person in charge,' and they would go and talk to the male inspector, not thinking that I would actually be in the position."

Al-Abbas was the first first women appointed to the position in St. Joe. She prepared another woman to take her place when she left public service.

In her 35 years of service, her most notable position became Indiana State Director at Lochmueller Group, a multi-state engineering firm, with a team today made up largely of women.

"As women, our work is not done," she said. "I had sponsors throughout my career, and every woman needs a sponsor."

Oaklawn Mental Health liaison Lindsey Monge discussed her personal growth and recovery from trauma as a child, changing her name to embody herself more fully.

"I didn't realize that my dad was using a variation of parenting that was actually abusing me," she recalled. "Reflecting on those times in my life there's a part of me that recognized how beaten down I felt inside, that there was a better way and I didn't really know how right I was."

Visiting a chiropractor as an adult, she learned that her tailbone had been broken from spankings as a child. At 17, Monge was kicked out of her parent's home and began what she called a journey of individuation.

"I learned over years of therapy just how many injuries I had suffered, ones of soul and self-concept," she said. "I really wanted to be a different kind of mother. I really wanted to be someone who was present, someone who was investing in her child, but what if I ended up no better than my dad was?"

Monge said when she changed her last name after getting married, it didn't occur to her to change her first or middle name, but after becoming a mom in 2020, her ideas changed.

"I hope you can also see that embodying the version of you that you know is valuable and strong is really important to being let out into the world and making an impact," she said.

The new version of her goes by Esperanza Lindsey Monge.

Executive Director of First Light Mission Mindy Moorehead chose to speak on including the homeless in the discussion. Moorehead said at First Light, they're turning away an average of 54 contacts per month since October.

"Most people think that individuals are homeless because they're criminals, drug addicts, or make just horrible choices, and that is not the situation," she said.

While mental illness may be part of the problem, for a lot of people, Moorehead said, generational poverty is a more likely culprit.

"Instead of running from them when you see them, talk to them," she said. "When they're in the local parks, try to communicate with them, socialize."

Moorehead said promoting education and raising awareness will help to reduce stigma. She also encouraged those in attendance to volunteer.

"There is nothing more powerful than an invitation," Moorehead added. "I am up here today from an invitation, I am in the role that I am in from an invitation... A really great man told me the other day, 'talent is distributed at birth, but opportunity isn't.'"

Dani Messick is the education and entertainment reporter for The Goshen News. She can be reached at dani.messick@goshennews.com or at

574-538-2065.