foundation board of trustees

foundation president

Peggy Black Meyer

Chapter: Epsilon Nu, Vanderbilt

Peggy has been a leader in the Dallas nonprofit and health care community for more than three decades. Professionally, she has been a member of the leadership team at the pediatric orthopedic specialty hospital Scottish Rite for Children for 34 years, serving as both the director of community relations and vice president, public relations.

A volunteer leader with Kappa Kappa Gamma since the 1990s, Peggy has served as Chairman of the Kappa Kappa Gamma Tablescapes event and Advisory Board Chairman of Gamma Phi Chapter, SMU. She also generously lends her time to numerous civic organizations, including the Crystal Charity Ball, Junior League of Dallas, Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas, and the Dallas Symphony Orchestra League.

Peggy resides in Dallas with her husband, Dr. Dan Meyer, and they are the proud parents of son Ben and daughter Margot.

foundation vice president

Tiana Fowler Ronstadt

Chapter: Epsilon Zeta, Florida State

Enabling women to succeed is Tiana’s lifework and passion. She founded Power Women Investing (PWI) in 2006 with a mission to empower individuals to gain financial independence and help them pursue their most ambitious dreams. She is a sought-after mentor and speaker in the financial industry and in Tucson, Arizona.

Tiana is a vibrant lecturer, workshop facilitator, and educator with over 25 years of financial planning experience. Tiana has helped clients through times of serious change in their lives, including pre- and post-retirement strategizing, pre- and post-divorce financial counseling, income planning, and estate planning.

Within Kappa, Tiana has served as the President of the Tampa Bay and Tucson alumnae associations.

She is married and has two children: Mia and Larry.

foundation treasurer

Amanda Brown Lang

Chapter: Epsilon Iota, Puget Sound 

Amanda currently serves as senior vice president with Alvarium Tiedemann (AITi), one of the largest independent investment and wealth advisers for high-net-worth individuals, families, trusts, foundations and endowments. She brings extensive financial experience and knowledge to the board. Her expertise includes private foundations, investments, impact investing, estate planning, tax planning and performance reporting. Amanda holds a master’s in financial analysis and is also a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ and a Certified Trust and Fiduciary Advisor.

Amanda started volunteering with Kappa in 2004 and has since served as a chapter adviser, President of both the Portland and Seattle alumnae associations, Province Director of Alumnae, Assistant to the Director of Alumnae, and Regional Director of Alumnae. She currently is a member of the Foundation Finance Committee and Foundation Investment Subcommittee. In addition to her Kappa volunteer roles, she serves on the board of Financial Beginnings Washington, a nonprofit dedicated to providing accessible and unbiased financial education to youth and adults to empower them to take control of their financial futures.

Amanda resides in Seattle with her husband, Phil, young daughter, and two stepsons.

foundation trustee

Susanne Wolff Fick

Chapter: Gamma Eta, Washington State

Susanne has volunteered with Kappa since 1988 and has since served in multiple positions, including Director of Alumnae. After graduating from Washington State University with a Bachelor of Science in nursing, Susanne worked as an emergency department nurse before “retiring” to raise her three now-adult children. Susanne has served on several boards, including PTSA/Site Council and 4-H. Both of her daughters as well as her sister and niece are proud members of Kappa. She resides near Seattle.

foundation trustee

Cynthia Heaberlin Beaird

Chapter: Beta Omicron, Tulane

With undergraduate and graduate degrees from Tulane University, Cynthia spent 15 years in the restaurant industry in management operations with Victoria Station restaurants and as director of human resources for the Chili's restaurant chain (Brinker International Inc.).

Utilizing her business and management skills, she transitioned to residential real estate, where she is a 30-year industry leader. A founding partner and senior executive vice president with Allie Beth Allman and Associates, Cynthia was the first recipient of the MetroTex Association of Realtors Community Service Award.

A community leader, Cynthia serves on the boards of the Junior League of Dallas, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra League, the Tulane Fund, the Dallas Summer Musicals and the Park Cities Historic and Preservation Society. Additionally, she is a member of the Crystal Charity Ball.

Cynthia was President of her chapter during college, served as President of the Dallas Alumnae Association and was an adviser to Gamma Phi Chapter, SMU. Cynthia has three Kappa sisters and six Kappa nieces, and she and her husband, Brice, have a Kappa daughter and a son.

foundation trustee

Christina Frank Erwin

Chapter: Gamma Iota, Washington Univ. (St. Louis)

For more than 15 years, Christina held director-level positions in corporate strategy and consumer marketing at AT&T. In 2017, she joined Lumen Technologies, where she guides the company's fiber internet marketing strategy.

Christina joined Kappa at Washington University in St. Louis and later earned her MBA from Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business. Christina has served as a Province Director of Alumnae and Province Director of Chapters as well as a variety of roles within the San Antonio and Kansas City alumnae associations, including co-chairman of the Kansas City Alumnae Association's 2013 Holiday Homes Tour.

She is a member of P.E.O. and Junior League and actively volunteers at her children's parish school. Christina lives in Overland Park, Kansas, with her husband, Marty; their children, Ethan and Caroline; and German shorthaired pointers, Ellie and Frost. When busy schedules permit, they enjoy spending time together at Table Rock Lake.

foundation trustee

Candy Kaelin Deemer

Chapter: Upsilon, Northwestern

Candy has over 15 years of experience coaching executives in nonprofits ranging from large-donor organizations to smaller startups and more. She has coached senior leaders and many midlevel managers as part of the student coaching work in the executive MBA program at Loyola Marymount University. Her coaching expertise focuses on communication, team leadership skills and executive presence. She has supported onboarding new executives and helped leaders build a values-driven culture.

Candy was an instructor in the executive MBA program at Loyola Marymount University for 13 years, where she taught professional growth planning and gave midcareer executives tools and strategies to better assess themselves and their career choices.

With 22 years in client services and agency management under her belt, Candy worked with DDB Worldwide Communications and became the highest-ranking woman at the Los Angeles office, serving as the co-managing director/COO.

She has served on the boards of directors of the American Advertising Museum, Northwestern University Alumni Association and Students in Free Enterprise. Additionally, Candy is a founding partner and board member of Social Venture Partners Los Angeles, a diverse group of professionals who donate resources and expertise to help local nonprofits accelerate their growth and expand their impact.

Candy holds a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism and has served on the Board of Advisors of Medill. She is a charter member and former chair of the Council of One Hundred, a small group of distinguished alumnae who are selected to be career role models and mentors to the university’s alumnae.

 

 

foundation trustee

Keo Frazier

Chapter: Psi Deuteron, Cornell

Keo Frazier’s career and focus of her life’s work is to enhance the human experience and be a brand expert and strategic marketer. All to elevate who we are collectively — locally, nationally and globally. She is the founder of New Thinkers, a think tank for creating world change. Most recently, she was director of communications and public affairs at Denver Housing Authority (DHA). Prior to joining DHA, Keo was the vice president of communications at Emily Griffith Technical College and the vice president of marketing at McWhinney Real Estate. 

As an executive with an entrepreneurial spirit and a strong background in marketing, strategic leadership and brand engagement, Keo has helped found and build seven companies. As an innovator and strategist, Keo has spearheaded and executed a multitude of marketing and branding projects for major corporations nationwide, including The City of Denver Department of Transportation rebranding, United Airlines TED fleet, and more.

Keo has earned several awards for her work in marketing and community involvement, including being named to the Colorado Women’s Chamber of Commerce’s Top 25 Most Powerful Women in Business, Marketing 2.0 Influencer Award, Denver Business Journal’s Top 40 under 40 and Outstanding Women in Business in Real Estate, ColoradoBiz Magazine’s Top Company list and Top 25 XYZer, GO Magazine Leader of the Pack and Top 50 Minority Owned Business Owner in Colorado.

With a passion for civic duties, Keo has served on nearly 20 nonprofit boards that fuel how her state operates and promote the betterment of its communities. She currently serves on three Board of Commissioner appointments by the Governor of Colorado.

After graduating, Keo served as a Kappa Leadership Consultant and as a scholarship reader for the Kappa Kappa Gamma Foundation.

 

foundation trustee

Alex Campion Young

Chapter: Epsilon Kappa, South Carolina

Alexandra Young is a leadership coach, professional development facilitator, and speaker who works with organizations to develop both leaders and teams. Alex empowers leaders to grow in their development while focusing on leading from the heart and engaging their teams.

Before pivoting her career during the pandemic, Alex was the director of a corporate university that specializes in providing leadership, project management, and technical training opportunities to all staff.

Alex’s love of leadership and her subsequent founding of a nonprofit, the Center for Girls' Leadership (CGL), which focuses on empowering women and girls through leadership development activities, has been inspired by her time at Leadership Academy.

After graduating and serving as a Leadership Consultant, Alex returned to the Twin Cities to attend law school. About halfway through law school, Alex realized she didn’t want to pursue a traditional career in law. One day, she stumbled upon her Leadership Academy journal with her note about her big dream of starting a leadership camp like Leadership Academy in Minnesota and the rest is history. During her third year of law school, Alex attended a class on nonprofit law. By the time she graduated and passed the bar, the CGL was born.

From starting as a Leadership Consultant, to being a scholarship recipient to attend law school, to working in nonprofit law, and to now leaning into leadership development and coaching again, the constant in Alex’s life and career has been the Kappa Kappa Gamma Foundation. She is honored to serve as a trustee of this incredible organization.

Alex received her undergraduate degree in journalism and mass communications from the University of South Carolina and her law degree from the University of St. Thomas School of Law in Minneapolis.

She lives in Minnesota with her husband, two boys, and their big Mack, a 1.5-year-old, 115-pound Newfypoo (Newfoundland/poodle mix). Alex is a lifelong learner who often has her nose in a book or her hands in the dirt in her garden.

foundation trustee

Mary Pat Rooney

Chapter: Gamma Theta, Drake

Mary Pat currently serves as Fraternity President. Previously, she served as Fraternity Vice President (2018–22), Academic Excellence Director (2015–18), Kappa Education Trainer (2010–present) and member of the Kappa Kappa Gamma Foundation Board of Trustees. She believes that Kappa’s impact on its members and their communities is limitless.

Professionally, Mary Pat is the associate vice president, development at United Way of Metro Chicago and facilitates donor investment in the foundational and strategic neighborhood-based work of the organization and its partners.

She lives in Chicago, loves to read, and enjoys exploring the city with her golden retriever, Stanley.

foundation trustee

Maria Brown

Chapter: Eta Delta, Valparaiso

Maria is serving her second term as a Vice President and her first as a member of the Kappa Kappa Gamma Foundation Board of Trustees. Maria credits her experience at Leadership Academy as launching her volunteer career with Kappa. She has served in a number of roles related to education and programming, including as the 2018–20 Programming Director, overseeing 14 Content Specialists assisting chapters and associations with member curricula.

She lives in Columbus, Ohio, with her husband, William, and works in financial services as a digital product manager.

foundation trustee

Barb Adams Goettelman

Chapter: Beta Tau, Syracuse

Barb brings a wealth of nonprofit and volunteer experience to her role as Vice President. Additionally, she represents Fraternity Council on the Kappa Kappa Gamma Foundation Board of Trustees. Barb previously served as District Director and Advisory Board Director.

At Kappa’s 74th Biennial Convention, Barb received the Loyalty Award, the Fraternity’s highest honor bestowed on a volunteer who has made a lasting impact on the organization. When she is not volunteering with Kappa, Barb is active with P.E.O. International, Daughters of the American Revolution and National Charity League Inc.

Barb resides in Englewood, Colorado, with her husband, Scott.

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