Thanks, Jen. I’m so thankful for your friendship and I can’t wait to see you standing in this position one day.  

Twenty-four years ago, I was a commuter student at Bentley College, driving back and forth each day. I actually almost transferred because I was lonely, hadn’t made many new friends, and felt isolated. It was hard to meet people because I wasn’t on campus. I wonder how many of you felt that way before Delta Sigma Pi. One day, I was sitting on campus when someone said, “Why don’t you come to this recruiting event?” Our parties never get broken up because we’re all RAs. Three years later, I was running my chapter’s 15th anniversary banquet. It was the first time I experienced the power that can come from bringing collegians and alumni together and when someone first asked me what I was doing for the rest of my life. I thought this was forward because he was married - but what he was really saying was I had leadership potential. That person was Mark Chiacchari, my Provincial Vice President, and I later said yes, when he asked me to volunteer on his team.  

After graduation I immediately became a District Director for a start-up on, of course, a commuter campus. Together we built something out of nothing and became the Xi Phi chapter, helping other people become connected.  It was at their installation banquet, when another brother asked me what I was doing for the rest of my life - this time, I knew what she meant. You can’t imagine the “oh my gosh” feeling that someone else saw me as an inspirational leader. 

With their support and encouragement, I spent 4 years as New England Regional Vice President, 4 years as Northeastern Provincial Vice President on the Board of Directors, 4 years as National Professional Development Chair and 2 years as National Alumni Development Chair. 

Over these past 22 years, I’ve been an inclusive leader, who has led with a firm motto - “Teach them to take my job.” My teams include past grand presidents, seasoned volunteer leaders, new alumni and collegians from throughout the country. Together, we got our hands dirty as we took steps to solve problems that were facing Delta Sigma Pi in the moment and in the future. 

We celebrated wins,  learned from our setbacks, and we formed great friendships.  I’m proud of the 25+ members of my teams that have gone on to serve at all levels - from District Directors all the way up to the Board of Directors. 

It's electrifying standing up here. Take a second look around – see what I see.  (No really, look around.) The next and current waves of CEOs, community leaders, and people that make the world a better place. But there is a deeper reason why we have gathered together as a group for nearly 120 years. Every person here, and brothers worldwide are equals, myself included, who care about Delta Sigma Pi. 

Collegiate and alumni alike have shown me how much you care. Openly sharing what you like about Delta Sigma Pi, needs that are not being met, support you wish you had, and how you want to help. We need you to provide this feedback. And we need to provide you the medium and safety by which that feedback, no matter how critical, can be received. Many of the improvements you would like to see are things I’ve implemented in my professional and fraternal careers. 

As Grand President, my goal is straightforward: help you become the best Deltasig and business leader you can be - through communication, education, and Brotherhood. By the way, let’s make sure we’re having fun too. 

In a time of rapid change we’ve tried a lot of things, and I commit to finding the solution to feel that you’re being heard.  My goal is to bring the boardroom to you, bring your voice to the boardroom, and give you an opportunity to provide feedback in multiple ways. I am leading the way to better communication with a simple AND powerful first step. After this caucus, my speech will be published on my campaign website and social media channels, actually the written speech is available already. This has never been done before in Fraternity history and it’s a concrete demonstration of my commitment to transparency, equitable access, accountability and finding new ways to do things.  Every brother – whether in this room, close by, or sitting at home is included in this communication and can call me out if I deviate from it. 

I’ve spoken with alumni who work in a variety of fields about how they give feedback to their employers. Many of them are using simple pulse surveys, a 1-5 ranking of their experience and what the company can do better.  My goal is to use a similar method for our Brotherhood. This will amplify your voice and provide a clear path of where action is needed. I took an unprecedented step of offering a brother survey during my campaign, while also holding a number of town halls and one-on-one conversations. I have seen these approaches work throughout my fraternal career.  Town Hall sessions conducted while I was National Alumni Development Chair led to the creation of national networking sessions, industry specific education, and trials of networking groups.

We need an organization that is responsive and agile, and I am the Grand President that can make it happen.  Throughout the last Biennium, you have told me that one size fits all approaches aren’t helping your chapters grow and you are worried about declining chapter size. Chapters are concerned about engagement among their members, and recognize that the Pledge Education Program could improve. As Grand President, I will work with my fellow board members, national leaders, and staff to prioritize the education of the whole brother - from pledge to Alumni.

We all joined Delta Sigma Pi to feel a sense of Brotherhood. Look at the people next to you. You probably didn’t know them when you arrived at Grand Chapter Congress.  In just a few days you connected and made lifetime memories. 

But I realize that there are a lot of brothers who were not given this chance. There are many who wanted to be here, or at other National events, but couldn’t because of the financial strain. And, I recognize you have spent a lot of time and money to be here this week. As Grand President I’ll ensure that we explore ways to bring brothers closer together at a lower cost through opportunities like regional LEADs and virtual experiences.

We need to make it easier for brothers, collegiate and alumni alike, to connect with one another. A way to do this is to expand the Affinity Group program, an initiative I brought to life with the National Alumni Development Committee. The goal of this program is to unite brothers with similar career interests, mentor collegians, and  build the Delta Sigma Pi professional bench.  This is an industry standard as many of our brothers are participating in similar programs within their own workplaces.

Today, as I look out across this body, we are more diverse than I have seen in my 24 years as a brother.  In the last two years, I have connected with many of your chapters to learn the initiatives that are driving intentional diversity and equity within our Brotherhood.  As Grand President, I will work with our staff and volunteer leaders to share your leading practices across the nation. I commit to appointing diverse voices and perspectives to our National Committees and Task Forces, strengthening our leadership pipeline.

But it will not stop there. I will continue to champion our Diversity and Equity strategies. We will use data to ensure our fraternity is representative of the campuses we serve and create the right budgets and structure to support these initiatives. 

This is an amazing journey. I am only here today because of the love and support of my wife Hillary, sons Isaac, Jacob and Thomas, my parents, and my mother-in-law, Jane. Thanks for your love and patience – I realize that volunteer leadership is a family commitment. Your sacrifice hasn’t been lost on me - thank you for giving me the opportunity to help people in a way that I love.  

I’ve had the pleasure to speak with hundreds of brothers.  I am humbled by the trust you have in me to openly communicate all your thoughts. As Grand President, I’ll keep the lines of communication open. You will always have my ear. If we have not had a chance to speak, I invite you to join the conversation here in Houston. 

Our collective ideas will define meaningful change.  I’m here as a leader whose passion and drive for Delta Sigma Pi is limitless. You may have noticed me carrying around this book this week. As I’ve spoken with chapters, I’ve taken your ideas for the future and learned from you. This is a physical representation of your passion and drive, and is just the beginning. As Grand President, these ideas will fuel action to raise the bar in the next biennium. 

For the past 24 years, I have held many different titles.  But, these titles are temporary.  The lessons and connections remain with me forever, and give me a firm understanding of how this Fraternity can help you become the leader you want to be!  I will take these lessons and connections to strengthen our Brotherhood through Education and Communication as your next Grand President.  Thank you, Brothers.