2025 Leadership Conference Recap Get an inside look at this year’s training events held in Denver, Colorado.
By Anna Claire Howard
Packed full of fun sisterhood events, insightful programming sessions and opportunities to network with officers and volunteers from other chapters, Alpha Phi’s annual Leadership Conference focuses on collegiate and volunteer leadership development, training and strategic improvements. Attendees leave having created actionable plans to take back to their chapters as advisors and collegiate officers to drive success. Alpha Phi trained 1,600 collegiate leaders and volunteers at this year’s in-person conferences (South/West and North/East) on topics ranging from equity and inclusion, finance, marketing and new member education to membership, and housing. Another 200+ members attended this year’s virtual conference, totaling more than 1,800 of Alpha Phi’s dedicated volunteers and collegiate leaders. Attendees were greeted on Friday, the first day of the conference, by staff at the registration desk, and they were able to shop at the Shop Alpha Phi booths set up by Alpha Phi vendors. The dinner's theme, "This Bid," gave attendees the opportunity to reflect on the transformative power of the moment each of us joined Alpha Phi. This Bid shaped each of us in extraordinary ways, and attendees were asked to consider how This Bid has impacted their lives. Their responses were displayed during Leadership Conference, and many of them are featured throughout this issue. The International Executive Board (IEB) presented the State of the Fraternity where we celebrated the incredible strides we've made over the past year as an organization. Each chapter and volunteer received a personalized thank you note celebrating their chapter specifically and the impact they've had on Alpha Phi. The evening concluded with recognition of our amazing volunteers through a new award for Outstanding Volunteer Teams and asking them to stand if different experiences and accomplishments applied to them. On Saturday, members set off to attend their strategic sessions. Lunch was preceded by a Foundation grant- funded keynote presentation by Dr. Lori Hart, Ph.D., from Holmes Murphy Fraternal Practice. Using research and decades of experience, Dr. Hart engaged participants during her attendee-favorite “Hour of Power.” This was a deep dive into the role of power within relationships,
communities and organizations, as well as why understanding and recognizing these power dynamics is crucial for fostering healthy relationships and equitable societies. Volunteers were also encouraged to participate in VIPhi, which provides high-level Alpha Phi volunteers like Collegiate Chapter Administrators (CCAs), Collegiate Chapter Managers (CCMs) and International Governors (IGs) training on the Fraternity's newest strategies and initiatives. At VIPhi, volunteers also enjoyed sisterhood bonding activities to get to know one another better and learn from each other's experiences. Alpha Phi chapters across North America work tirelessly to embody the Fraternity’s High Ideals of Membership — character, sisterhood, generosity and innovation — and all that hard work was recognized at the annual awards banquet. Chapters that met or exceeded their goals or made considerable progress in key areas in 2024 were honored with awards at their respective conferences per their designated geographic quadrant. The liveliest event at this year’s conferences was the highly anticipated pep rally-themed awards banquet on Saturday night. Attendees were encouraged to dress in their school's colors to represent their current universities or alma mater. This year’s awards dinner highlighted the outstanding work of our 2024 executive officers and offered entertainment put on by volunteers and Executive Office staff members, including: • A break-away banner that energetic volunteers like chapter advisors (CA), collegiate chapter administrators (CCA) and collegiate chapter managers (CCM) ran through • Dance competition • Hula hooping contest • Dynamic performance by the Denver Nuggets drumline Alpha Phi’s International President Kate Halfon (Eta Delta-CSU East Bay) proudly presented the winning chapters’ representatives at each Leadership Conference with their awards at the Saturday night awards banquet. Approximately 100 awards were distributed between the conferences.
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