I have volunteered with Alpha Gamma Delta for the majority of my alumna life. I've served in various roles for the last 19 years. I'm grateful for and have loved the experience. I would be honored to serve the Fraternity in a role where I could help shape policy and set the vision of Alpha Gamma Delta. I believe that in serving on International Council, the extensive and present-day collegiate-level experience and perspective I would bring to the group would further our shared vision of serving our members throughout every phase of their lives.

Chapter Advisor, Gamma Phi Chapter, Georgia Institute of Technology (2010 - Present)

For the last 19 years, I've had the privilege to serve as an advisor at Gamma Phi, and in 13 of those years, I've served as the Chapter Advisor. Gamma Phi is located in Atlanta, Georgia at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Gamma Phi is a moderately large chapter (structure D) with chapter total ranging from 190-200 members. We have a chapter house that sleeps 48 women, offers a full meal plan, and employs several full and part-time staff (including a Chef and a House Director). Gamma Phi is not part of the Fraternity House Corporation and instead operates under a House Association.

In my role as Chapter Advisor, my time is split between the leadership development of officers/chapter members, advisor recruiting and training, and managing the 'business' aspects of the chapter (e.g., overseeing approx. $1M income, hiring and managing chapter staff, and ensuring compliance with all tax, insurance, and reporting requirements). During my time as Chapter Advisor, I have assisted the chapter with navigating the construction of a new chapter house (nearly doubling resident capacity to 48), chapter growth from 80 to 200 sisters, campus extending twice, as well as several changes in campus professionals. Through all of these years and changes, I've learned how important it is to foster relationships with our collegiate officers and advisors, execute initiatives that are both sustainable and responsive to the chapter's needs and campus culture and train officers who have the confidence and knowledge to trust their decision making abilities and leadership skills.

Law firm partner (2020-Present)

I have practiced intellectual property law since 2009 and was elevated to Partner at my firm in 2020. Before becoming an attorney, I worked as an engineer in the medical device space for six years. Though improving, both engineering and patent law are highly competitive, male-dominated fields. While I take pride in my professional accomplishments as a female in these industries, I'm not blind to the privilege that comes with being able to attend both engineering and law school. I am grateful for the attorneys and engineers who invested their time in my training, and I intentionally prioritize the mentoring of young attorneys, especially women, to help them reach their potential. With this mindset, I approach being a partner at my firm as an opportunity to 'pay it forward' and invest in the young attorneys in my office. Prior to becoming a Partner, I served on the DEI and Recruitment Committees.

I currently serve as the Education/Professional Development Committee Chair for the firm and also as the Mechanical Practice Group Chair. As the Education/Professional Development Committee Chair, I developed a first-year curriculum for our junior attorneys and coordinated weekly training sessions. Training our junior attorneys in the practice of law not only ensures that we provide excellent work for our clients but also improves attorney retention and engagement. I am also responsible for coordinating monthly case law updates and presentations within the firm, ensuring that all attorneys are current on recent decisions out of the Federal Circuit and Supreme Court.

Being a partner has also introduced me to the business side of practicing law. I regularly participate in meetings where the economic priorities and business issues of firm operation are discussed and decided upon. I regularly work with clients to set budget predictions and manage the financial aspects of their IP portfolio.

GIPA, DEI co-chair

I serve as the Co-Chair of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee for the Georgia IP Alliance (GIPA). GIPA is a non-profit organization that advocates for intellectual property and innovation in Georgia. While the committee's aim is to support creators (inventors, artists, etc.) and the professionals who assist them with protecting their intellectual property, I have worked primarily on initiatives to advance the efforts of diverse undergraduate students and law students in the Atlanta area and support them as they transition into law firm/corporate practice. The committee has led initiatives to sponsor students to take the Patent Bar Exam and provided scholarships for diverse students. I personally coordinate a yearly mock interview program for diverse students in conjunction with the Southeastern IP Job Fair. Students are paired with IP professionals, providing them an opportunity to make important professional connections and prepare for future job interviews.

Pro Bono Attorney, KIND (Kids in Need of Defense) (2018-present)

In 2018 "Chef Jeff" (celebrity chef Jeff Anderson) spoke at Convention and shared how food insecurity impacted his life. Closing his presentation, Chef Jeff said that "your legacy will be defined by the people you help" and challenged us to change up the demographics of the women we mentor. With that inspiration, and after hearing the stories of families separated at the US-Mexico border, I was compelled to volunteer with KIND.

As a pro bono attorney with KIND, I represent children seeking asylum in the United States. This involves mountains of paperwork, briefing, and ultimately arguing cases to the US Customs and Immigration Services, Homeland Security, and Federal Courts. My first case was with a young girl who left Guatemala with her father fleeing gang violence. It has been humbling to work with this young woman, and I am inspired by her strength and spirit of hope. Unfortunately, her father passed away in 2021, leaving her alone. While we are awaiting a hearing on her asylum case, we are urgently working on legal routes to bring her mother to the United States while her asylum case is decided. Though her case is far from over, she is an amazing young woman, and I can only hope that I have helped in some small way to impact the trajectory of her life. In 2020, I was recognized by KIND as the 2020 Pro Bono Attorney of the Year for the Family Separation Team.

Integrity and Accountability:
As a Chapter Advisor, I have been heavily involved in the CIMS (Change in Membership Status) and Membership Selection processes at Gamma Phi over the last +13 years. In every discussion, I emphasize how vitally important it is to maintain not only the integrity of the process but also our personal integrity as officers and advisors. This includes maintaining member and EC confidentiality and having difficult conversations in a way that's respectful and kind but also holds folks accountable to the rules of the process and the promises they made to each other as sisters. It can be very uncomfortable sometimes for us to have difficult conversations with and about our friends and people we care deeply about. And it's possible that our feelings will cloud our judgment or urge us to make an exception that's not in the best interest of the chapter. As the Chapter Advisor, it's important that I'm able to separate my personal feelings and refocus CIMS/membership discussions on the facts and full context of the situation. I'm a partner at my law firm, and with a partnership role comes a commitment to the other firm attorneys and to our clients that I have integrity in all aspects of my work. One way that I maintain this integrity is by dealing with mistakes with honesty and transparency. I firmly believe and have experienced that holding myself and my team accountable for our mistakes helps to build trust. If a mistake happens, I will personally call the client to inform them and then do everything I can to make it right. The client might be upset with me or the situation, but I believe it's absolutely imperative to be honest and ethical in my client dealings, even when it's embarrassing or uncomfortable. For the last year, I have served as the Mechanical Practice Group Leader at my law firm. My firm practices exclusively intellectual property law (e.g., patents, trademarks, trade secrets), and all of our attorneys have either an engineering or science background. To help with workflow, productivity, and training, we divide the firm into "practice groups" based on technology area. As the Practice Group Leader, I'm responsible for managing workflow to ensure that we are meeting the commitments we made to our clients in a way that is sustainable long term. As you may suspect, most attorneys have type A personalities. We have a very hard time saying "no" to our clients (or firm leaders) and tend to overcommit ourselves. Because we're people pleasers and hold ourselves to sometimes unreasonably high standards, we tend to feel a great deal of shame when we are running late on work deadlines. Rather than ask for help, we bury ourselves in our work at the expense of our personal well-being and relationships. In my role as a Practice Group Leader, I have really tried to create a culture where we shift our mindset to one where we are bringing our "whole person" to work. In order to do that, the entire team has to be committed to showing up in service of our work and each other. This means we regularly re-assign work to make sure everyone's workload is manageable, that we honor the promises we made to our clients, and that we see our team members as humans with lives and not just cogs in the machine. This might not sound revolutionary, but in a law firm setting, it is very common to hoard work and never admit to your manager that you're behind or struggling. It can feel uncomfortable to show vulnerability, but I believe that a team built on a foundation of trust and teamwork is better both for the team members and the client.

Having worked closely with our Officer Board and Chapter Presidents for the last 13 years, I have grown to fully appreciate the particular challenges and responsibilities placed on these officers. Most recently, I have seen officer teams struggle with the challenges of making sorority and Greek life relevant to today's college students. Campuses across North America are seeing a decline in participation in the sorority/fraternity experience. On International Council, my goal would be to help shape policies that create an organization that is relevant to today's students and adds value to our members' entire lives. With the current cultures around and perceptions of Greek life, it's important now more than ever that our chapters are places where our collegiate members graduate stronger, smarter, and more socially aware than when they joined. To achieve this, information gathering is key. We need to understand our campuses, what's prompting women to join, what's discouraging them from participating in recruitment or leaving the sorority after initiation, and what would make them want to stay engaged even after graduation. If we want to remain relevant to today's college students, we must understand their motivations, passions, and values.

Some of the greatest challenges faced by women today include gender equality, mental health, and sexual assault/violence. I believe that Alpha Gamma Delta can support women by providing a supportive personal and professional network, fostering leadership skills and training, and creating a platform for advocacy and empowerment. The connections formed within sororities can provide invaluable lifelong networks for career opportunities, emotional support, and guidance, aiding women in navigating both personal and professional challenges. Sororities are uniquely positioned to offer mentorship, skill-building opportunities, and a supportive community that encourages women to take on leadership roles. This encouragement fosters confidence and translatable skills essential for success in future professional settings. While sororities are often platforms for raising awareness about women's issues, we also need to empower our women to advocate for themselves and each other. Most chapters are very good at organizing events, but we sometimes struggle with initiating and actively engaging in discussions that promote gender equality, physical and emotional safety, and mental health awareness. I believe that Alpha Gamma Delta can create a member experience that promotes belonging and inclusion. By empowering our women to advocate for themselves and support one another, we can serve as a catalyst for addressing some of the challenges women face today.