National Sorority Board 2020 Slate
The Nomination Committee is pleased to present the following slate of National Sorority Board (NSB) candidates. In accordance with national bylaws, they will be voted on during the Sigma Alpha Sorority National Convention on Saturday, August 1, 2020.
The Nomination Committee has reviewed all applications submitted, interviewed each of the candidates, verified that each of the candidates meet the qualifications outlined in the National Bylaws, and voted upon the slate of candidates below. Applicant resumes will be included in the delegate folder that each delegate will receive upon check-in at Convention.
At National Chapter Congress, any alumna that meets the National Bylaw qualifications to run for National Sorority Board may be nominated from the floor of Convention for each of the positions. After the nominations close for each position, the candidates will speak and two others will speak on their behalf. Then, voting takes place, and the elected officers are announced.
If you have any questions or are interested in running for a position from the floor of Chapter Congress, please feel free to contact Kelly Lawler, National President & Nomination Committee Chair, at nationalpresident@sigmaalpha.org.
President
Kimberly Stassen Neumann
Kim earned her bachelor’s degree in Agribusiness from North Dakota State University in December of 2009. An alumna of the Upsilon Chapter and an active member of the Sigma Alpha NDSU Alumnae, she was inducted into the chapter’s Alumnae Hall of Fame in 2018. She served the Sorority on a national level as a Chapter Consultant from 2011-2014 and as Vice President from 2015-2019. Kim is a loan officer at AgCountry Farm Credit Services and serves on the Women’s Group bringing educational and networking opportunities to female customers. She is a Director on the American Berkshire Foundation Board and the Treasurer of the Redwood County Corn & Soybean Growers Association. Kim and her husband, Brad, live on Brad’s family farm near Wabasso, MN. Because of the tremendous impact Sigma Alpha made in her life, Kim wants to ensure that same experience is available to fellow sisters.
Treasurer
Christine Phipps
Christine graduated from the University of New Hampshire in 2011 with a dual degree in Business Administration and Animal Science. She was President of the Beta Kappa Chapter. Following graduation, she moved around to continue her competitive riding career. In the fall of 2013, she moved to Southern Pines, NC, and has lived there ever since. She currently runs her own equine consulting and care business. Christine wants every sister, current and future, to develop lifelong friendships, treasure memories made with their sisters, and take advantage of professional development opportunities. In addition, she wants to motivate her fellow sisters to continue to strive for achievement in scholarship, leadership, and service. Having served as National Treasurer since 2018, she looks to continue to use her time and talents to make that happen.
Secretary
Aimee Ellinger
Aimee joined the Omega Chapter of Sigma Alpha during her freshman year at South Dakota State University. As a collegian, she served as Secretary, Philanthropy Chair and Scholarship Chair. She graduated SDSU in 2016 with a degree in Agriculture Leadership. Aimee has served the Sorority as a 2019 Leadership Seminar Facilitator and a 2019 National Convention Presenter. She lives in Cottonwood, MN, with her husband, where they farm and custom graze cattle. She works for the South Dakota Cattlemen’s Association and Minnesota State Cattlemen’s Association as the Communication & Outreach Coordinator. Aimee wants to give back to an organization that has given her so much and help advance the next generation of women in agriculture.
Secretary
Angela Faryan
An alumna of the Alpha Iota Chapter and of California State University – Chico, Angela received her bachelor’s degree in Animal Science with an Agricultural Business minor in 2016. As a collegian, she served her chapter as the Vice President and as the Recruitment Chair. She is a territory business manager for Zoetis, specializing in beef cattle health. In her spare time, Angela enjoys teaching Jazzercise, building her “side-hustle” of buying, growing, and selling feeder calves and managing PR for the Oregon Cattle Women’s Association. As National Secretary, she has begun projects to bring personal and professional resources to collegiate chapter secretaries. If re-elected as National Secretary, she wants to lift women up and encourage them to be the best version of themselves.
Development Director
Kate Hadley
Kate graduated from Michigan State University in 2012 with a bachelor’s degree in Chemistry. She was an active member of the Gamma Chapter where she served on the executive board for two years. After obtaining her master’s degree in 2014 in Crop and Soil Science, Kate loaded up her truck and drove half way across North America to pursue a career as an agronomist in Western Canada. She currently works in the golden (canola) fields as a Market Development Agronomist for Bayer in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. In her free time, she enjoys playing hockey, curling, shooting sporting clays, and duck hunting with her black lab, Beau. Over the past year, Kate has been working on updating and streamlining the Chapter in Development program. She would like to be able to implement the new program and set new chapters up for success.
Outreach Director
Alyssa Clements
Alyssa is an alumna of the Theta Chapter. She graduated from the University of Tennessee in 2014 with a bachelor’s of science degree in Animal Science. In 2015, she graduated from the University of Illinois with a master’s degree in Animal Science with a focus on beef cattle nutrition. Alyssa currently works for Purina Animal Nutrition as a Livestock Production Specialist in Tennessee. When she isn’t working with beef producers, Alyssa enjoys traveling to many of the U.S. National Parks and is working on her goal of visiting all 50 states! Alyssa wants to continue her service as a National Board member because she would like to continue to give back to the organization that gave so much to her. Through continued expansion in alumnae member engagement and partnerships with other organizations in agriculture, she wants to continue to grow support for current and future members.