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 her life. She offers the best lessons she learned from having the courage to put herself first, and learn to say no in order to give her best yes. Her powerful story of her challenges is an inspiration for all to hit pause when difficulties arise. Read Alison’s contribution to the Harvard Business Review.Connect with Alison on Twitter and LinkedIn!Episode highlights:2:08 Alison’s contribution to Harvard Business Review article4:50 Realizing the cracks in her personal support system8:22 Creating resources out of nothing12:04 Pushing the pause button15:48 Creating space and time for yourself16:58 Normalizing therapy and mental wellness18:58 Learning to say no20:00 Realigning and resetting

Let's Talk Tri Delta

Sometimes It’s OK to Hit the Pause Button

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 all generations and demographics—and offer better solutions for treatment. She discusses how to understand guilt vs. Shame and how shame is the crux of addiction. Rachel also focuses on the support network for those struggling with addiction and how to offer compassion with boundaries. This complex topic affects so many in our worlds, and we welcome the dialogue with Rachel now and in future podcasts.  Learn more about Rachel and her important work:https://www.healingspringsranch.com/our-team/rachel-graham/https://www.evolveandtransform.me/ Episode highlights:7:00 Understanding compulsions in addiction9:30 How to feel your feelings12:21 Depression vs. Anxiety13:48 Supporting with compassion and boundaries15:50 Guilt vs. Shame17:32 Normalizing and understanding addiction19:50 Recognizing enabling habits

Taking on Addiction with Kindness and Compassion

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 navigate the new experiences back at school. Mari Ann is joined by collegiate chapter presidents Julia Dawson, Pennsylvania, and Caroline Bradley, Texas A&M, to cover the importance of community, how to ask for support and how to make sorority better by being catalysts in a global world. Highlights:4:18 CCPs share challenges they face6:12 How they worked to build community13:00 How Tri Delta has helped personal growth and development15:08 What do sororities need to be better in society

Collegiate Leaders Shine in Challenging Times

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 cancers and focus on a bigger global expansion of their work around the world, in partnership with the World Health Organization. Rick notes that because of Tri Delta, St. Jude is able to dream even bigger about a world without childhood cancer.  Here are some highlights:1:28: Rick discusses St. Jude’s new strategic plan3:40: St. Jude eyes more global expansion7:42: How St. Jude relies on public donations10:40: Hear about St. Jude grad school! https://www.stjude.org/

Tri Delta & St. Jude Dream Big

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 other great habits to start practicing!https://www.themettleworkshop.com/Follow Erin on Instagram!  erin.mettleworkshop

Resilience Doesn’t Mean Perfection

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 opportunity shift perspectives and invest in what you trust. Christi also discusses resilience and how we’ve realized we can accomplish hard feats, especially in a pandemic. She covers how resilience is like a muscle and gives advice on how to stretch and exercise that muscle. Finally, she offers four great reflection questions to ask yourself as you “bring your best.”Inspirata CoachingConnect on Facebook!Email Christi@inspiratacoaching.com

Reimagining Our "Reentry"

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 Fraternity updates. Despite our collective experience of the last 18 months, Tri Delta is coming out of this more vibrant than ever! Megan celebrates our many accomplishments and has a sit-down conversation with Rob Wilson of Culture Shift Team, our partner in completing our organization-wide diversity audit. Megan and Rob discuss the progress of our LEADDD Now action plan to create a more inclusive and equitable lifetime membership experience for our Black, Indigenous and Sisters of Color. Listen in as Megan provides a glimpse of the many successes we have to be proud of and exciting things to come!

Megan James Shares Tri Delta Updates and Inspiration

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. Melanie discusses how she defines allyship and why self-education is imperative to being an ally to any marginalized community. Epsilon Rho was the first Panhellenic chapter at USF to have a DEI committee and is now partnering with other chapters on campus to promote education within their communities. She reflects that her leadership and efforts in Tri Delta have shown her how to make positive change and use her voice in an effective manner. Follow Epsilon Rho Chapter on Instagram!@usfcatridelta

Uncomfortable Conversations Create Humanity

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 chapter’s resources and training with a focus on growth mindset, and it’s already having an impact on members. Learn more about the work of our collegiate members like Lauren and Epsilon Upsilon Chapter as we create a more equitable and inclusive lifetime membership experience.Follow Lauren and Epsilon Upsilon!@LaurenWhitman8@udtrideltahttp://delaware.tridelta.org/

LEADDD Now: Self-Assessment and Growth Mindset on the DEI Journey

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” both literally and figuratively through her own personal experience with a tornado devastating her home. She talks about how to be a builder, assess true damage and how to look to new opportunities that life brings along Hear more from Julie on The Bearing Life Podcast!Find more mental health resources, Behind Happy Faces and Behind Happy Faces: Navigating Stress and Uncertainty on Leaddder.org.

Weathering the Storms of Life with Practical Compassion

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 recruitment process to make a more inclusive experience to welcome members to Tri Delta sisterhood. Ainslee also discusses how her chapter began utilizing a third-party reference for potential new members during recruitment. As DEI leaders in the Texas Panhellenic community, Theta Zeta hopes that that more accessibility will soon make campus sororities truly reflect the university population.Follow Theta Zeta on Instagram!  http://utexas.tridelta.org/

LEADDD Now Conversation - Texas Tri Delta Leads the Way on Inclusion Efforts

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 arts education to young people and introduce them to the world of opera. She has been able to showcase BIPOC professionals in the arts and participate in telling more diverse experiences through her art. Alicia offers great advice on staying flexible in your life and career in an ever-changing world. Follow Alicia!Instagram: aliciarussellsopranoWebsite: https://www.aliciarussellsoprano.com/

Soprano Forges Opera Career, Creates Space for Diverse Artists

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 understand that this decision may cause concern and disappointment as these are cherished relationships that we look forward to sharing with our family members.Tri Delta acknowledges that this is more than just a policy change, but an organizational cultural shift to be more kind alike to all. Jenni Oaks, Stacey Cox and Karen White each share personal connections and stories about the legacies in their lives and how this change allows for a more equitable recruitment experience. They discuss how removing barriers to membership also opens doors to enable more diversity and opportunity in Tri Delta. Following their conversation, we hear from Ainslee Harrison, collegiate chapter president of Theta Zeta Chapter at the University of Texas. Theta Zeta has recently removed preferential treatment of legacies from their policies and the chapter is leading the way with exciting initiatives on diversity, equity and inclusion on the UT campus. 

LEADDDing Through Change: Legacy Policy in Tri Delta

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 has created space for elevating and championing those voices and talents. She reflects on key areas of “honestly, humility and hope” in DEI by making courageous moves to create a better world together. Read more about Kara and Tri Delta’s 2021 Women of Achievement. 

Arts Leader Champions Women and Diversity Through Ballet

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 focuses on the powers of empathy and listening in allowing voices to be heard in any realm and shares how Tri Delta empowered her as a Black woman in any industry. Gayle also shares a powerful concept of “plus one” on inviting your “plus one” to important conversations and experiences.Read more about Gayle and Tri Delta’s 2021 Women of Achievement.

Tri Delta Changemaker Helps Turn Women of Color Into Tech Titans

Welcome to Let’s Talk Tri Delta! Topics covered on this podcast will be relevant to the Tri Delta experience, both collegiate and alumnae, with hosts and guests who are members, friends and industry experts. We will take a deep dive into some of the most powerful stories from our award-winning magazine, The Trident, and we will get up close and personal with some of our brave, bold and kind members.

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Let's Talk Tri Delta

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