Front row, from left to right: Susan Kornegay, Jenn Ragusa, Amy Ayres
Back row, from left to right: Lee Deadwyler, Shenea Strader, Jill Roshto, Jennifer Surgalski, Kim Hunnewell, Danielle D'Arcy
Get to Know Your 2024-25 Foundation Board of Trustees
At the fall 2024 BOT meeting, we asked your Foundation Trustees to answer some fun questions and share a bit more about themselves.
- DO GOOD: Which Delta Gamma Foundation area of support means the most to you?
- A FUN RECOMMENDATION: Is there a book, show or podcast that you love and would like to share? What would you recommend to our sisters?
- REAL LIFE: If we were to visit you in your hometown or city, where would we be most likely to find you, who would you be with and what would you be doing?
Read on to get to know our Foundation Trustees better and check out their bios here: https://www.deltagamma.org/library/ttdtdm/foundation-board-of-trustees-bios/
Foundation Chair
Jennifer (Jenn) Stuart Ragusa, Zeta Lambda-UC Riverside
DO GOOD: This is such a tough one! As I spend more and more time as a volunteer for the Foundation, I can tell you a touching story about each program area that will tug at your heart.
As a collegian, I received a Delta Gamma scholarship. At the time in college, this meant the world to me! It was significantly impactful to know that my sorority cared about collegians enough to select me as a recipient and lighten the load of the financial burden that college expenses place on so many.
As I grew up in Delta Gamma, at my chapter, Zeta Lambda-UC Riverside, I was selected for 3 leadership travel opportunities. This drastically changed my life in so many ways. I was able to attend the leadership training for DGs holding the position of vp: membership. This was my first view of DG on a larger scale. I met ladies across North America and we instantly bonded. I knew then that there was so much more to DG than I realized.
Upon graduation, I was selected to be a Collegiate Development Consultant (CDC). This was a formative year for me and started the path to serving DG in any capacity that I could.
And then the question of what means the most to me? Well, I first connected with DG on a closer level over Service for Sight. I grew up with a cousin who would have all loss of sight by the time we were teenagers. I witnessed how this impacted his life and also was (and still am) impressed by what he does with his life, not letting the loss of sight divert him from doing what he loves. If I were told that I have to choose one area, Service for Sight is the area that can bring tears to my eyes and warm my heart in an instant. Why? Because it's greater than you or me or DG. It's the area that we are able to serve beyond our sisterhood and forever make a difference in the lives of so many. It's the area where do good means that we are doing good beyond our own membership. It's also a time when we can collectively come together across chapters, regions, and ages and know that we all strive to make sure that someone else will have a bit less of a burden due to our Service for Sight actions.
A FUN RECOMMENDATION: I love historical fiction books. Currently, I am in the middle of The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray. So far it's great and I highly recommend it! If you ever listen to audiobooks, one of my all-time favorites is Daisy Jones & the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid. I love that this audiobook is done with multiple narrators for the characters and it's a great storyline. I haven't yet watched the TV series, but the audiobook was fantastic!
REAL LIFE: The beach! I try to look at the water and visit the beach every day. The only thing holding me back is likely to be a sporting event for one of my kids. I have a favorite coffee spot called Super Bloom that sits right on the water, and you can view the most amazing sunsets while sipping a coffee, tea or cocktail! I also have a special spot at Law Street in San Diego where we have been visiting to watch the moonlight on the ocean waves, my kids surf and special picnics for years. This is one of my "zen" spots that renews my spirit any day.
Foundation Secretary
Lee C. Deadwyler, Gamma Iota-DePauw
DO GOOD: This was tough to pick! But, I think the Foundation program that means the most to me is the training and programming we provide. The way we pour into members so they can develop into the best versions of themselves is really important. I am lucky to have personally benefitted so much from DG leadership training as a collegian (and even still now as an alumna)!
A FUN RECOMMENDATION: I love so many tv shows and podcasts. Two of my absolute favorite podcasts are Normal Gossip and Scam Goddess. In Normal Gossip, the host Kelsey McKinney shares anonymous gossip with that week’s guest. It’s incredibly funny, sometimes shocking, but always entertaining! And Scam Goddess is hosted by the amazingly funny Laci Mosley. She invites guests to share about scammers and con artists, but in a very funny way! If you need something lighthearted, I would recommend either of those two podcasts.
REAL LIFE: If you were to visit me in Washington, DC, you would find me at team trivia or playing softball with friends. I have been lucky enough to be playing with some of the same folks for about 6 years! We put the social in social sports!
Foundation Treasurer
Jill Elizabeth Roshto, Gamma Zeta-Louisiana State
DO GOOD: We have so many amazing programs, but I love the Crisis Grant program that offers a lifeline to our sisters at a time of extreme hardship and need. This program really makes the case that Delta Gamma is for life.
A FUN RECOMMENDATION: I was obsessed with a Danish show, Seaside Hotel, on the PBS app this summer. It is a historical drama that spans several decades from the 1920s through to the end of WWII and follows a group of people who go to the same hotel every summer. It is funny, heartwarming and also informative about what was going on in Denmark during war time.
REAL LIFE: Well, it is fall, so you might find me in Tiger Stadium at an LSU football game or checking on things at the temporary Delta Gamma House (we are currently living in the DKE Fraternity House) while we renovate our house.
Foundation Trustee
Catherine (Kim) Schmoker Hunnewell, Alpha Upsilon-Southern Methodist
DO GOOD: The Foundation area that most resonates with me is Service for Sight. I am continually amazed at what a difference we make in the lives of people with blindness or low vision with our grants and programs. And, as I continue to be exposed to what those living with low vision need, it opens up new opportunities where we can continue to help make change.
A FUN RECOMMENDATION: Love the author Kate Quinn, Diamond Eye is a favorite! Two favorite shows would be Only Murders in the Building, and Masters of the Air.
REAL LIFE: If you were to visit me in Minneapolis, you would find me walking the lakes with friends, playing pickleball, and taking a cooking class at Bellecour. My goal this winter is to learn to play mahjong.
Foundation Trustee
Danielle Consentino D’Arcy, Gamma Pi-Roanoke
DO GOOD: The many scholarship and fellowship opportunities that allow our sisters to invest in themselves via education.
A FUN RECOMMENDATION: Books: All by Mark Sullivan: The Last Green Valley, Beneath a Scarlet Sky, All the Glimmering Stars. TV Shows: Shrinking and Schitt's Creek.
REAL LIFE: Chicago: At one of the many Lake Shore parks with my husband and our dog, or on our rooftop cooking pizzas on the solo stove overlooking the city skyline and Bozeman: In the mountains hiking, hunting, fishing, being present in - and with - nature.
Foundation Trustee
Jennifer Surgalski, Zeta Sigma-Northern Kentucky
DO GOOD: As a past recipient of a Delta Gamma Foundation Fellowship for graduate study, I feel especially passionate about our Foundation’s support of women furthering their academic pursuits. The Foundation’s support allowed me to pursue my Masters in Business and Sports Administration, and launch my career in sports and entertainment. I’m so very grateful to my sisters who generously gave to our Foundation and made my fellowship possible.
A FUN RECOMMENDATION: As a result of my work on the National Medal of Honor Museum, I’ve read several autobiographies of Medal of Honor recipients. Among the most impactful to me is Kyle Carpenter’s You are Worth It. Kyle is our youngest living Medal of Honor recipient and someone I’ve come to call a friend. His book is an incredible account of his life, military experience and resilience through adversity. His is an important story I think everyone will benefit from reading.
REAL LIFE: In Dallas this fall, you will find me enjoying walks on the Katy Trail, working to improve my golf game, patio dining and cheering on my Dallas Cowboys!
Foundation Trustee and Fraternity President
Dr. Amy R. Ayres, Alpha Iota-Oklahoma
DO GOOD: I have a deep appreciation for the experience that Hope Serving provides. Hearing the testimonials of collegians and alumnae who attend this hands-on service trip really speaks to the good that Delta Gamma does.
A FUN RECOMMENDATION: My current obsession is with the RedHanded podcast. I’m a sucker for true crime. Hannah and Suruthi regularly bring great entertainment my way.
REAL LIFE: The local food scene in Oklahoma City is pretty phenomenal, so you’ll likely find me on a patio with someone who also loves to keep up with the ever-growing list of new locales.
Foundation Trustee and Council Trustee: Fraternity Programming
Shenea Stephenson Strader, Eta Iota–Nevada, Reno
DO GOOD: I love the programming that we’re able to offer! Lewis Institute, Dawson Institute, and the Act with Intention programs are some of my personal favorites.
A FUN RECOMMENDATION: True Crime Creepers, hosted by two DG alumnae! Highly recommend – it’s exceptionally entertaining!!
REAL LIFE: You’d most likely find me volunteering at my twins’ elementary school – I’m there several days a week, making copies, volunteering in the classroom and doing whatever else they need help with. I’ve been known to plan a class party or two, also!
Foundation Trustee and Fraternity Treasurer
Susan Meyer Kornegay, Eta-Akron
DO GOOD: Since I was a collegian at Eta-Akron, the Foundation’s program that has always meant the most to me is Service for Sight, as championed by Ruth Billow and lived out in my close friendship with Jean Nardin (not a Delta Gamma) for 25 years. Jean lost her vision to Type 1 Diabetes while in her mid-twenties, just about the time we first met. She taught me so much about how much people who are blind can actually do (like playing golf and skiing), what their challenges are and how to help (like using the “clock method” to help them navigate a meal), what not to do (like grab their arm rather than offering yours to guide them), and so much more.
A FUN RECOMMENDATION: I really enjoyed the audio book, Hello Darkness, My Old Friend: How Daring Dreams and Unyielding Friendship Turned One Man’s Blindness into an Extraordinary Vision for Life (Sanford D. Greenberg). This book was recommended to me by former BOT Secretary Lynne Thieme. It is the story of a Columbia University student from a poor Jewish family who overcame losing his eyesight to disease while in college and found success as a student and as a professional and public servant. It also explores his lifetime friendship with Art Garfunkel, who wrote the introduction and provided the narration for the audio book.
REAL LIFE: If you were to visit me in Knoxville, I’d love for my husband Jerry and me to take you to Cades Cove in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Less than an hour from our home, Cades Cove is a scenic valley surrounded by mountains and one of the most lovely and peaceful places on earth, especially in the fall when the colors are at their brightest. The valley is circled by an 11-mile loop road from which you can explore historic homesites, churches, and cemeteries, as well as access hiking trails and watch for wildlife such as deer and BEARS! Cades Cove is certainly one of our favorites.