Gamma Phi Beta - University of Kansas

SIGMA NEWS Meet Sigma's New Chapter Advisor S igma Chapter is fortunate to have Britny Fix Wood '93 as our new chapter advisor. Britny was a member of the 1993 Sigma pledge class, and earned her degree in political science at KU. As a Jayhawk, she was a student senator and a member of the KU cheer squad. She lives in Lawrence with her husband, Brent, who was a Delta Tau Delta at KU. Brent is an orthodontist and owns Oread Orthodontics in Lawrence. They have three children: Cameron (15), Joey (13), and Alyx (10). Britny is a stay-at-home mom and loves spending time with her family and traveling. She is excited to take on the role of chapter advisor and is looking forward to getting to know all of the women on an individual basis and helping them reach their goals. Her Gamma Phi sisters are still her best friends and 1339 West Campus Road holds a special place in her heart. THANK YOU, GENEROUS ALUMNAE D uring the spring 2015 appeal of our annual campaign, 49 alumnae showed their enthusiastic support of the chapter by contributing more than $7,875. The accomplishments and successes enjoyed by the Sigma Chapter are directly attributed to the ongoing and loyal support of the chapter's alumnae. The following is a list of contributors to the spring 2015 appeal, listed in their cumulative annual giving level since spring 2011. If an error has been made in recording the amount of your gift, or if we have mistakenly omitted your gift, we sincerely apologize. If a correction to your giving record is needed, please send it to Sigma Chapter of Gamma Phi Beta, P.O. Box 3796, Lawrence, KS 66046. Friendship Club ($1,000 and above) Marjorie Anne Fischer Dozier '63 Sisters Forever Club ($500 to $999) Sara Fair Sleeper '41 Jean Elson Woods '57 Lou Ann Murray Hansen '58 Marcia Nelson Cassidy '59 Karlene Howell Ferguson '59 Sandra Miller Shutler '59 Dee Burrows Clifford '68 Juhree Rockhill Ring '68 Karen Zupko '69 Betsy Robinson Vander Velde '70 Jill Remsberg McGee '79 Robin C. Beery '86 Kelle Burmeister Gilmore '98 Mom Hayward Club ($100 to $499) Adele Heying Korth '50 Joan Fordyce Spencer Cooke '51 Catherine Campbell Dunmire '53 Ruth Olson Allison '57 Dinah Wolters Schuler '57 Suzanne Kastner Kerwin '58 Joyce Tobiasen Schwartz '59 Lesley Hagood Kennedy '61 Linda French Wilson '64 Barbara Sleeper Hulsizer '68 Terrie Webb Huntington '68 Janet Ulmer Koertge '68 Cynthia Shuth MacArthur '68 Toni Farha Colyer '69 Betsy Morgan Garvin '69 Harriette Stewart McCaul '69 Jan Booth '70 Martha Mueller Gentry '72 Susan Landman Harwood '74 Gail Schuler Jennings '74 Mary Beth Mueller Doughty '76 Judy Shepherd Hawkins '78 Melissa Mendenhall McGrath '79 Janis Withers Milham '79 Laura Dunmire Klotz '80 Elizabeth McKemey Bickley '82 Dionne Scherff Crawford '86 Stephanie Geis Heffernon '87 Trisha Mathis Mathis-Lueker '88 Charity Warlick Manley '97 Brown and Mode Club (Up to $99) June Shinkle Powell '36 Sallie Little Norton '58 Judy Bailey McIntire '65 Linda Hughes Bell '67 Laurie Miller Van Auken '71 Britny (second from right) with her family. 2 J essie Townsend Teague '72 is truly a woman of the world, and Sigma Chapter just may have been the launching pad for her global career. She joined the chapter with her freshman roommate, Alice Robinson Levy, in 1972 and instantly felt at home with her new sisters. "The Gamma Phi house was a place full of positivity and "can do" spirit," says Jessie. "Role models of courage and conviction were plentiful. Several older girls inspired me with stories of their solo ventures out into the world. Soon, I was acting upon my own dreams," she says. As a student, Jessie went from coordinating an international travel fair at KU's Student Union, to taking a winterim in Greece with fellow Gamma Phi Martha Jane Mueller Gentry '72. That experience sparked the desire to spend her junior year abroad at l'Universite de Bordeaux, France. Though far away, she felt close to her sisters, as they mailed her party pix and newsy cassette tapes. During that year, she also spent three life- changing weeks in the USSR. She earned her BS in secondary education, political science, history and French and later went on to earn a master's in organization development from The American University in Washington, D.C. Jessie's professional life has been both eclectic and electric—taking her back to the USSR and Central Europe before, during and after the fall of communism. She even served as executive manager for the bi-partisan Congressional commission on the Abraham Lincoln Study Abroad Fellowship Program, generating legislation that eliminates barriers to study abroad. Jessie says vision and values interest her. She long taught political leadership courses at Georgetown University and The George Washington University's Graduate School of Political Management and recently created Imagi-Nation, LLC, a firm focused on the agency of art. "I roll paper out and doodle participants' ideas on a large and colorful scale for all to see. The value is on democratic process. Visions evolve in transparent fashion." She has captured ideas of three members of President Obama's cabinet, NSA officials, corporate and non- profit leaders. Just last year Jessie helped a fellow Sigma member, Madeline DuBois '15, fulfill her dreams of studying abroad through her involvement in The International Center for Leading Studies. The two met at Sigma's Centennial Celebration and then, by Jessie's recommendation, Madeline became a US delegate to the Greek-led summer academy in Chania, Crete. "Madeline made me proud", says Jessie. "She faced country-specific and faith-based biases among international participants, presenting a fresh face of America, practicing her Arabic and bridging differences." "We learn to lead ourself by watching others lead. We lead well when we hold high those G Phi B lamps of learning, labor, loyalty and love. No kidding!" Jessie hopes Sigma will continue to put forward more US delegate names for www.ticls.org. "Bonds between bright young leaders make a difference later. We have the capacity to change lives through our sisterhood," she says. Jessie lives in Sarasota, Florida, and has four grown children. She enjoys trips home for KU's International Education Board of Visitors meetings. You can reach her at jttsquare4@aol. com to learn more about the TIAAS program. Jessie Townsend Teague '72 Turns Passion for International Affairs into Dynamic Career

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