Describe the blend of personality, skills and life experiences that you would contribute to Supreme Council and the mission of Phi Sigma Sigma. You may draw from multiple experiences whether it be professional experiences or from volunteer roles.

Key strengths I will bring to the role of Director on Supreme Council are relationship building, a professional background in marketing and branding, and a varied history of volunteering in both collegiate and alumnae capacities, both with the Fraternity and with other organizations.

Being a graduate from a small, midwestern chapter, I have capitalized on volunteer opportunities to expand my network across the organization which has expanded my perspective on the collegiate and alumnae experiences. I have served as a Chapter Key Advisor, as well as a General Advisory Board member, keeping connectivity to collegiate activities. I also served on the Volunteer Engagement Committee, working to build value in lifelong membership experiences for alumnae. Currently, I serve on the Mentoring Committee, which provides key resources linking collegiate and alumnae experiences.

Professionally, my career in marketing and advertising includes large-scale multi account agency management and brand-focused leadership with consumer product companies. These roles require strategic leadership, working cross functionally with competing priorities, and managing teams and budgets. I have experience balancing multiple large accounts and projects as well as managing and developing a team of direct reports. My current role brings together brand and product strategy across all our North American business units. I am directly responsible for brand policies that outline marketing standards required by our sales partners across all channels.

What is your experience in business/organizational management, such as risk management or policy preparation?

Professionally, I work in Marketing Operations with a focus on policy management and enforcement, including brand reputation and risk. This includes creating/maintaining policies and managing compliance with both internal and external partners. This work involves translating brand strategy and positioning to ensure representations of our brand align with the mission and vision of the company. One major focus of my work currently is revising our authorized partner program, policies, and documentation to align with evolving marketplace priorities, such as pricing strategies and diversion investigation. Ensuring a consistent brand-lead consumer experience is a cornerstone of my position.

Personally, I volunteer with Detroit Roller Derby (a 501c3 women’s sports organization, which is a member of a larger international association) in an officiating leadership capacity which includes being current on the global sports organization’s risk management policies related to rules, safety, and DE&I policies and procedures. I am responsible for training officials, mentoring/coaching existing volunteers, and enforcing rules and policies. As a competitive, full-contact sport, roller derby is a complex environment with a necessary focus on safety and a focus on inclusivity. I am also certified to officiate for youth/juniors, which requires a higher level of safety oversight. I have taken leadership positions more broadly in tournaments across the state, in both Crew Head and Tournament Head roles and have been involved with implicit bias training for volunteers.

What do you feel is the greatest risk to the Fraternal industry over the next biennium?

In the collegiate space, I feel the greatest risk is related to the overall college attendance rates and fraternity experience. Continuing to support barrier reduction for students both in college attendance and fraternity opportunity is going to be critical over the coming biennium. Providing resources and working with organizations focused on current and prospective students – like financial aid advice, education on loan practices, and support for minority and first-time college students through outreach programs – can help ease stressors related to participating in higher education, and ties directly into our philanthropic cause of school and college readiness. Continuing to encourage sisters to capitalize on the benefits of membership through leadership development opportunities and networking, following through to recent graduate experiences can help showcase the benefits to students of Fraternity membership.

For alumnae, connectivity to and value of the continued fraternal experience post-graduation is an important focus. Engagement at the alumnae level ultimately supports lifelong membership and can provide additional reasons to believe for collegiate recruitment. Continuing to build our resources and touchpoints focused on the alumnae experience – like the mentorship program, in-person social event support, optimized communication streams, and digital platform management with the Phi Sig Network and external social sites – can all help bring alumnae into active engagement with the fraternity in ways that fit their individual life stage.

Tell us about a time you had to lead a team or organization through a crisis, making difficult strategic decisions. Please share the processes you use.

When serving as a Board Member, and then President, of Detroit Roller Derby, we faced a significant decline in membership. As a member-operated organization, decline meant not only fewer individuals to support the work, but less financial support coming from dues. I worked collaboratively with the Board to put forth changes to the membership to the structure of the organization – including how many teams we were able to support, updated membership requirements and policies that streamlined operations, and new recruitment and retention programs to support long-term organizational stability. Reducing the number of teams, combining committee jobs, and updating policies to reduce other league time commitments for members all helped to better align a sustainable workload. Community events for recruitment and providing more membership benefits (such as dues reimbursements for officers and training opportunities for officials) helped support current and future members.

Some of the changes were not popular with existing members and it was important for leadership to communicate transparently and compassionately, stand behind the strategic decisions, and support change management. Members needed to have their concerns heard and have input throughout the process. Planning enough time to be able to empathetically address concerns and allow discussion was a critical part of the process. It was also important for the Board to continue to provide an avenue for feedback as new policies were implemented and provide flexibility to continue to be able to assess what worked best for the organization.

What are your current personal and professional priorities? Describe your current bandwidth and how you plan to incorporate your commitment as a member of Supreme Council to your current obligations.

I am prioritizing balance and strategic growth. Professionally, I am fortunate to have a well-structured career that allows flexibility and encourages engaged leadership outside of company roles. As such, I do not anticipate any bandwidth issues related to my professional obligations.

Personally, I am prioritizing leadership positions within specific organizations I am a part of, and taking a step back in others, to ensure I can commit the time needed for growth. This includes succession planning in leadership positions I currently hold to ensure both a smooth transition should I be selected for Supreme Council membership, and my own ability to maintain connection to communities that are important to me. My active involvement in the Fraternity has been a constant priority over my last nearly 20 years as an alumnae volunteer. As the occasions for my involvement have evolved through life changes, career developments, and new Fraternity opportunities, I am honored to have the chance to continue to contribute should I be selected for service.

Give an example where you have had to execute the vision or a project for the committee or team you have been a part of.

As the Development Officer with the Phi Sigma Sigma Foundation, I helped launch the initial GOLD Program – a donor initiative targeting recent graduates. As part of the program, I was able to connect with recent graduates across the country, both helping connect those that may have lost touch back to the organization and building the active donor base for the foundation. The program provided a way to connect directly to alumnae with updates on the Fraternity, combined with a low entry point ask for Foundation support.

My role included working with the partner company to tailor their program to our organization in conjunction with Fraternity staff and members of the boards; finding ways to reflect our vision and mission in a compelling story for donor solicitation. I was then responsible for using our alumnae database and demographic information to identify potential donors for outreach and ongoing cultivation. I travelled to personally meet with sisters across the country, and over the nine months raised over $100,000 in pledges for the Foundation with a 43% close rate. The program also allowed me to reinforce connections on behalf of the Fraternity with alumnae who were both already active and connected, and those who were looking for ways to connect back after graduation.

How would you separate your personal sorority experience from your executive role on Supreme Council, including upholding your confidentiality and fiduciary obligations?

My hope in being in leadership is to have the opportunity to help make connections and provide support across the variety of members’ sorority experiences, while upholding the responsibilities entrusted to our Supreme Council. I fully understand that leadership requires an active and respectful adherence to confidentiality, fiduciary obligations, and transparent collaboration. I have experience upholding these as a member of other boards in my past, as well as professionally with sensitive company, partner, and customer information. Part of my service on the Detroit Roller Derby Board included conflict resolution between members and/or volunteers. In some cases, this included sensitive information related to both individuals’ relationships with the organization or other members. At times, remediation included restriction or termination of an individual’s activity with the league and needed to be handled with confidentiality, while still being communicated to others who may be impacted by the decision within the organization, such as committee heads or volunteer coordinators who would have to help enforce the decision.

Describe how you have collaborated with others to make critical decisions quickly and effectively?

While working in advertising and marketing, I have led many high-spend, complex projects that required coordination across multiple internal and external contributors. When leading these projects, I find that having strong, data-led recommendations and succinct, detail-oriented references are critical to gaining buy-in effectively.

In one instance, I was the Senior Brand Manager when my company launched a new spokes-character, which included a large time-sensitive media investment. To meet deadlines, I had to work collaboratively across multiple departments and levels of leadership within the company to gain approvals on talent, creative, contracts, and budgets. I was also the main contact for our external agency who was doing hands-on creative work such as filming and editing, and media negotiations. What I find most effective is bringing key contributors and decision makers into the conversation early so that all representatives can understand the process. I also find that ensuring the correct individuals had authority to make approvals without being delayed by unnecessary checkpoints. Being able to identify potential conflicts or delays in advance, as well as preparing alternative solutions, helped keep our overall rebranding effort on schedule.

Further, I find that to ensure long-term efficiency, it is important to build trust through transparency and post-project follow-ups on opportunities for improvement. That way, when there are needs for quick decisions, there is both  authority vested to individuals and trust in the processes to help streamline effectively.