Let's Talk Tri Delta

Content Warning: This episode discusses topics on sexual assault and sexual violence. Following our April LEADDD Keynote with author and artist Chanel Miller, we are having a conversation on sexual violence and assault prevention with Laura Luciano, Maryland . Laura serves as Associate Director of Violence Prevention and Victim Assistance at the Rutgers-Camden campus, where she provides counseling...

Vernice “FlyGirl” Armour has worn many hats in her life: combat pilot, police office and entrepreneur, excelling in typically male-dominated fields. She knows that being the first also speaks to how representation matters. At Tri Delta’s Collegiate Leadership Conference she will speak with our new collegiate officers about elevating their leadership by making what she calls “the gutsy move.” This...

Taylor Lou was inspired to excel in business through her entrepreneurial family, and her Tri Delta grandmother showed her what it was like to be a strong, kind and feminine leader. Taylor started her first business at 21 and has gone on to help other women and “fempreneurs” grow their businesses and increase their impact and wealth. She speaks about making space for women in business and how to in...

In summer 2020, Tri Delta’s Convention approved the LEADDD Now resolution to create a more inclusive and equitable lifetime membership experience, especially for our Black, Indigenous and Sisters of Color. This journey has led to an organization-wide audit to learn more about lived experiences of our sisters. Anchored in our Purpose, LEADDD Always is Tri Delta’s recommitment to diversity, equity,...

For nearly a decade, Lindsay Boccardo has been coaching, researching and developing programs for the next generation of top talent in the workforce. She’s passionate about working with younger women at the pivot points in their life as they begin their careers. Lindsay discusses the concept of creating a life team, by bringing people into your life who help you achieve all your dreams, personally...

The holiday season is here, and it’s easy to let stress take over and consume us with so many personal, professional and family obligations. Leadership coach, keynote speaker and Tri Delta favorite Stacy Nadeau, Creighton , helps us evaluate the expectations we put on ourselves around the holidays and how to prioritize self-care going into the new year. She takes a look at self-care in emotional,...

The #1 thought leader on 21st century teamwork and collaboration, Erica Dhawan brought the house down at our recent LEADDD Keynote, focusing on how to lead with digital intelligence and we’re so pleased to have her on this episode of Let’s Talk Tri Delta! In an ever-changing world, Erica shows us how to find your voice and get noticed through your digital presence and body language. She offers fan...

This Founders’ Day, we take a look both to Tri Delta’s past and our future. Fraternity President Megan James, Millsaps , speaks about our trailblazing Founders and their remarkable paths as women and professionals. Since our earliest days, we’ve had a steadfast commitment to the growth and development of our members. She also offers an exciting glimpse into new opportunities for our sisters! Highl...

We are celebrating our sisters as we approach our annual Day of Giving on Friday, Nov. 12, just ahead of World Kindness Day. Tri Delta’s Foundation Board Chair Stacey Cox, Southern Methodist , is joined by three alumnae who share why they give and how it makes a difference in the lives of their sisters. Lexi Leggs, Millikin , is a young alumna who received a scholarship as a collegian, which helpe...

Fresh off her LEADDD Keynote for Tri Delta, we’re pleased to have Dr. Megan Gerhardt on our podcast! Megan is a professor of management and director of leadership development at the Farmer School of Business at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. She began her work on “gentelligence” following her TEDx Talk “Why I Like Millennials and You Should Too.” This concept reframes how people think about gen...

In a recent article in the Harvard Business Review, Alison Griffin, Southern Methodist , contributed her story about life as a single parent during the pandemic. She discusses the lengths she took for her family when all her available resources for support were suddenly gone. Feeling the weight of the world, Alison forced herself to hit the pause button in order to recalibrate and reset parts of h...

Rachel Graham, Baylor , is the CEO and co-founder of Healing Springs Ranch, where she focuses on bridging the gap between addiction, mental health and trauma. Her personal mission is to affect change in addiction treatment by treating the “whole person.” Following a personal experience with a loved one who battled addiction, Rachel sought her passion for understanding the roots of addiction—across...

The last 18 months have been a challenge for our collegiate chapters … some of whom have just returned to campus for the first time since March 2020! Our collegiate leaders are leading the way in re-adjusting to what chapter life now looks like on campuses. Tri Delta’s Sr. Director of Strategic Initiatives Dr. Mari Ann Callais has been championing our chapters with programming and support as they...

In our more than 20-year partnership with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Tri Delta has helped St. Jude further its mission of finding cures and saving children. ALSAC President & CEO Rick Shadyac joins us on the podcast to give updates on St. Jude’s brave and bold new strategic plan. This new $11.5 billion expansion of their mission will continue to fight the most difficult childhood cance...

Dr. Erin Gallagher, California/Berkeley , started her career as an educator and shifted into life coaching when she observed the levels of stress in young people. Helping others build resilience and develop mindfulness has become her mission, especially as we navigate returning to “normal.” Hear her tips, ideas and guidance, including how to use the “5-4-3-2-1” technique for moments of anxiety and...

Christi Flynn, Washington , is a certified life coach and the Principal of Inspirata Coaching. As the world gets back to “normals” Christi examines the levels of anxiety we may have as we go back to work, school and everyday activities. She offers the great advice of “name it to tame it” in recognizing your feelings and how to reflect on what’s most important. Every anxiety provides a new opportun...

Tri Delta held our first ever virtual Volunteer Leadership Conference the weekend of July 16-17! This power-packed weekend featured an inspiring keynote from Jenny Evans, dynamic workshops and celebrated our sisterhood with our Volunteer and Alumnae Awards. Kicking off the VLC experience was Fraternity President Megan James, Millsaps , with a special version of Let’s Talk Tri Delta, giving Fratern...

Many of Tri Delta’s collegiate chapters are on the front lines leading the way on our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. Melanie Velasquez, San Francisco , found a way to use her voice through Epsilon Rho’s DEI committee. Her work with the committee helps educate her chapter members and community about having uncomfortable conversations, and how that ultimately creates humanity. Melani...

Following the racial unrest of 2020, Lauren Whitman,  Delaware , took it upon herself to create DEI programming for Epsilon Upsilon Chapter to open communication among chapter members, even with difficult conversations. A key part of her programming is a self-reflection exercise, used for members to assess their own DEI journey before and after they participate in training. Lauren designed the cha...

May is Mental Health Awareness month and we are joined by Dr. Julie Shannon , Stephen F. Austin , a speaker, writer and podcaster. Julie focuses on practical compassion in dealing with life’s realities. She discusses her journey with infertility and how the celebration of motherhood and Mother’s Day may be painful to those who are “involuntarily childless.” Julie also discusses the “storms of life...

Tri Delta’s Theta Zeta Chapter at the University of Texas has been hard at work with efforts on diversity, equity and inclusion, starting with eliminating preferential treatment of legacies during recruitment. Before Tri Delta made this organizational change, collegiate chapter president Ainslee Harrison was leading the charge for her chapter. Theta Zeta is eager to eliminate barriers in the recru...

Alicia Russell, Furman , has been singing as long as she could sit still in church. Coming from generations of singers, Alicia found early passions for the stage through musical theater performances. After being encouraged to pursue opera, she quickly discovered what would become her career. Having served as a resident artist at companies around the country, Alicia has also been able to promote ar...

This episode explores an important organizational policy change. Tri Delta’s Executive Board has unanimously voted to eliminate collegiate chapter legacy policies, effective July 31, 2021. For many of our sisters this comes as a welcome change, as chapter-level legacy policies have caused a great deal of confusion and have been a barrier to membership for some. And for many of our sisters, we unde...

Kara Barnett, Duke , is an arts leader, an innovator and Broadway producer who is making waves in the world through her work as Executive Director of the American Ballet Theatre. She discusses her work and shifting priorities to provide arts entertainment in a virtual world, extending reach across the globe. Kara speaks about the representation of women and diverse voices within arts and how ABT h...

Following a successful career on Wall Street in banking and corporate philanthropy, WOA recipient Gayle Jennings-O'Byrne, Pennsylvania , found a new passion for becoming a champion for women of color in the tech industry. The daughter of one of the “hidden figures” of Silicon Valley tech world, Gayle founded her own venture capital firm, WOCstars, to help fund tech business by women of color.  She...