Leading Conversations for Change: The 2009 Norma Minch Andrisek Leadership Conference The excitement of the Norma Minch Andrisek Leadership Conference is unmistakable. As collegiate leaders arrive with their suitcases and their smiles, the anticipation grows. And this year, the excitement of those collegians overflowed with even more enthusiasm, for this was the first time that the Norma Minch Andrisek Leadership Conference was held in the place of Delta Zeta's founding, at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. "Legacy Tours" took participants to notable locations on Miami's campus and through the National Historical Museum and National Headquarters to learn more about the Sorority's history and the extraordinary six women who not only founded a national sorority at Miami University, but laid the groundwork to influence lives and cultivate leaders for the next 107 years. Lindsay Pavlak, Vice President of Membership of the Kappa Tau Chapter (Morehead State University) said, "Having the conference at Miami University was a great experience. We got to walk on the streets that the Founders walked on and to see historic places on campus, as well as tour the National Historical Museum and National Headquarters." The Norma Minch Andrisek Leadership Conference is a nurturing, inspiring environment where many collegiate-age women learn not only leadership values that help them make their Delta Zeta chapters the best that they can be, but provide the guidance that enables them to take that leadership into their professions, their communities and beyond to change the world. One of the most memorable events of this year's conference was the program "Delta Zetas Who Have Changed the World." A panel of influential and inspirational alumnae included Michelle Albrecht Smith, Alpha Chi, National President of Delta Zeta; Cindy Tinney Kozil, Gamma Beta ‘81, Vice President, Student Development and Retention at Dean College in Franklin, Massachusetts; Tina Prather McIntosh, Gamma Chi ‘91, Founder of Joy's House, an adult daycare facility in Indianapolis, Indiana; and Barb Poremba ‘83, Gamma Beta, Vice President of Sales for the Coca Cola Company and Delta Zeta Foundation Trustee. Each woman spoke about how Delta Zeta has influenced her life both personally and professionally and each credited the Sorority with helping her to become a woman of strong values and conviction. Beyond that, each alumna also spoke about how Delta Zeta has helped her to help the world around her, whether that world is Delta Zeta as an organization of individual members guided by a perceptive leader (Michelle), college students seeking direction and guidance from a knowledgeable mentor (Cindy), older adults living with dignity because of one woman's commitment (Tina) or a large corporation dedicated to sustainability and responsibility to the communities and lives that it touches, due to employees who know the value of leaving the world a better place than they found it (Barb). The conference's premise, Leading Conversations for Change, allowed participants to become fully involved in active conversation circles, led by Delta Zeta alumnae or interfraternal friends/facilitators, as they explored their leadership journey and how they became the leaders they are today. Moreover, collegians learned how to engage in conversations to create change. They then committed to bring that change back to their worlds. Shelby Pohndorff, Secretary of the Alpha Beta Chapter (University of Illinois) said, "I have gained perspective on what it is like to be a leader. The conference has given me new ideas on how to improve myself and how to lead." Brittany Lee, President of the Theta Psi Chapter (Ashland University) was also enthusiastic about what she had gained. "It's helped me to take a step back and really look at my leadership role. It's been good to take a step back to look at my leadership role. When we look at the bigger picture, we're more likely to go farther, not only as a chapter, but as an organization as a whole." The Norma Minch Andrisek Leadership Conference and other Delta Zeta leadership and educational programs, supported in part by gifts to the Delta Zeta Foundation, are truly, to paraphrase Gandhi, the "change that we want to see in the world." These experiences are expanding Delta Zeta's reach to educate and support Sorority leaders who are the agents of change in the world today.