Volunteer Experience
I have spent my entire adult life in some sort of volunteer role for Delta Sigma Pi. Over the past 21 years, I have been a District Director, Regional Vice President, Provincial Vice President, Chair of two National Committees, at-large committee member as well as an Alumni Chapter President, Vice President of Collegiate Relations, and Vice President of Chapter Operations. Because of this experience, I understand what is needed to be successful in all levels of leadership and what are the challenges officers will face along the way.
My work as National Alumni Development Chair since 2019 and National Professional Development Chair from 2013-2017 has given me the opportunity to serve in a national role that provides strategic advice and direction to the Board of Directors. I am also accountable to work closely with our Leadership Foundation, Vice Presidents of Alumni Relations, Vice Presidents of Professional Development, Alumni Chapter Officers and other brothers to discuss new ideas, implement change (such as the Presidents Academy and National Career Panels and Resume Reviews), and ensure the Fraternity is preparing the next generation of leaders while also helping all brothers experience the benefits of our diverse alumni network.
This volunteer experience, outside business experience, and my ability to listen and execute change give me a unique advantage to best position the Fraternity to modernize, improve communication, and help collegians and alumni get the most out of their Delta Sigma Pi experience. It also gives me a fresh perspective to make the change that we need as a Fraternity.
Learn more about my volunteer experience below.
Highlights of my District Director Roles
The role of the District Director is to be the chapter’s main source of support and guidance as well as the liaison to the Regional Vice President and Central Office staff. I have served in three tours of duty as a DD starting in 2002, 2007, and 2017.
Highlights of my DD experience include:
· Helping the Xi Phi chapter transition from a colony to a chapter and offering hands-on support for officers as they experienced struggles in that transition.
· Helping the Lambda Tau chapter stay informed and up-to-date on national initiatives and programs while assisting them in their operational programing.
· Helping the Pi Rho chapter take a strategic data driven approach to recruiting to help them grow into a successful and striving chapter.
Highlights of my Regional Vice President Role
The role of the Regional Vice President is to ensure that chapters within a specific region are operating smoothly by the management and training of District Directors, monitoring of CMP reports and via collaboration between DDs, chapters, Central Office Staff and school officials. I served as New England Regional Vice President from 2003-2007 and was able to develop a leadership pool and pipeline which is still active today, bringing chapters closer together to help one another, and set the Region on a path to rapid expansion.
Highlights of my RVP experience include:
· Organization of semesterly officer meetings and local LEAD schools providing avenues for chapters to learn from one another and share ideas for new programming and events to help the chapters stay engaged with one another.
· Creation of CEI (predecessor to CMP) Reports that were distributed to DDs and Chapter Officers to highlight successes and areas of opportunities for each chapter.
· Utilization of an Assistant DD program to serve as an avenue to build a volunteer bench and ensure young alumni were given training to be successful as DDs and volunteer leaders down the road.
Highlights of my Northeastern Provincial Vice President Role
The role of the Provincial Vice President is to serve as a member of the Board of Directors helping the fraternity establish its long term visions and plans while also ensuring smooth operations of chapters across a province, training the Regional Vice Presidents and addressing chapter issues as they arise. I served as the Northeastern Provincial Vice President from 2009-2013 redefining the way we approached LEAD schools, establishing a Provincial scholarship fund, and empowering collegians in new ways.
Highlights of my PVP experience include:
· Redefining our LEAD programming so there were distinct tracks for officer training, volunteer leader training, personal development, and professional development.
· Empowering collegians by having chapters lead sessions at LEAD school events and having Provincial Collegians of the Year serving on the Provincial Leadership Team.
· Focusing on PVP succession from day 1 ensuring the RVPs were kept informed of Board conversations, the questions the Board would be asking, and devoting time to strategic and long-term conversations during Provincial Leadership team meetings.
· Proactively engaging the Leadership Foundation prior to LEAD events in order to create events and marketing at the LEAD schools to market to the various donor types in attendance (collegians, young alumni, seasoned donors) as an avenue to help endow the Northeastern Provincial Scholarship Fund.
· Re-drawing of the Regional boundaries to form the Empire Region and working with collegians and alumni to ensure a smooth transition.
· Encouraging collaboration between DDs and officer groups via roundtables at all LEAD sessions.
Highlights of my National Committee Chair Roles
The role of the National Committees are to help the fraternity address long-term goals in specific areas while also running events and programs in the short term to help achieve both short and long term goals. I have been fortunate to have served as chair of two national committees, chairing the National Professional Development Committee from 2013-2017 and the National Alumni Development Committee since 2019. In these roles I took a national lens to help us improve our training for volunteer and collegiate leaders, offer opportunities to improve alumni engagement, and set the vision for programs and technology improvements that would help alumni and collegians better receive the benefits of our alumni network.
Highlights of my National Chair experience include:
· The creation of the President’s Academy creating the framework for both the weekend long programming we see today as well as a way to incorporate training into LEAD schools and online training.
· Implementation of an interactive Volunteer Online Training program which enabled volunteer leaders from throughout the country to build their leadership skills in specific areas via webinars and discussions during online sessions.
· Heightened engagement and collaboration with Vice Presidents of Alumni Relations and Vice Presidents of Collegiate Relations to ensure both groups were interacting with one another and helping us to brainstorm new ideas for alumni engagement, and programing that would help collegians and alumni gain career/professional advice from our alumni network.
· Creation of National Career Panels and Resume Review sessions helping engage unengaged alumni and provide collegians with actionable advice to help them in their careers.
· Investigation of ways to group brothers of similar professional interests and backgrounds as a way to build on the virtual best practices we’ve seen from the COVID era as well as help everyone benefit from Delta Sigma Pi’s alumni network.