Cast Your Vote to Elect Our Next Women in Student Affairs (WISA) Knowledge Community Chair

Time is running out to vote for several key NASPA volunteer leadership positions for 2018. WISA will be electing a new Chair of the Knowledge Community, and we need your help. Voting closes on Sunday, February 4th.  Please cast your vote on the ballot that you received via email. 

Candidate(s): Dr. Leanna Fenneberg & Alexandria White (1 Co-Chair Ticket) 

Joint Candidate Statement: Our combined passion to connect with and serve women in Student Affairs drives us to the roles of Co-Chair for the NASPA Women in Student Affairs (WISA) Knowledge Community. We realize this work includes providing space, opportunities and resources that will support women in their professional and personal pursuits, with a resulting impact on our work to promote student success and student learning. While there are a growing number of women in student affairs across all functional areas, and increasing representation in the senior-most leadership positions of our organizations and campuses, it's clear that inequities and challenges continue to exist for women who serve in these capacities. The WISA Knowledge Community provides support and advocacy to promote professional development to meet these and other overarching personal and professional needs.

Alexandria and Leanna hope to lead WISA, building on the long-standing commitment of this Knowledge Community to serve women in our field, by engaging women in a community of support towards these goals. The two of us connected originally virtually through the Student Affairs Mom's (SAMs) Facebook page, and subsequently facilitated a NASPA Pre-conference workshop on Work-Life Integration for Student Affairs Moms (or Aspiring Moms) with additional colleagues as a way to support women charged with "doing it all". We bring differing personal and professional experiences and strengths to collectively contribute to WISA. Alexandria serves as Assistant Director for the Center for Inclusion and Cross Cultural Engagement at the University of Mississippi, and balances this with pursuit of a doctoral degree, serving as a single mom, and facilitating the SAMs Facebook group which now engages more than 5,600 members. Leanna serves as Vice President for Student Affairs at Rider University, recently relocating with her family for a professional opportunity. She received her Ph.D. pre-kids, and is the mom of 2 boys. While new to WISA, she previously served in a NASPA leadership role as Co-Chair for the Student Affairs Partnering with Academic Affairs (SAPAA) Knowledge Community and thus values the role Knowledge Communities can play in providing professional development and support to student affairs professionals.

Our overarching commitment is to engage women in student affairs - reflective of various intersections of their identity - in community and professional support via the activities of WISA. We want to identify, motivate and encourage women to be courageous in their professional and personal lives. We will connect with other WISA leaders to identify specific goals and opportunities for the period of our service to the KC. Our personal goals for consideration include: expanding opportunities for women in student affairs to exercise leadership through involvement in WISA and NASPA, increasing awareness of issues specific to women of color, supporting in-person and virtual opportunities for members to connect in community, promoting the professional development and mentoring or sponsorship of members, supporting the integration of work and life and supporting the work of other KCs as it relates to the intersectionality of identities for women in student affairs. It would be our honor to lead WISA. We commit to respecting the personal and professional needs of all women in our field and supporting these needs through intentional conversations, engaging activities and community building and individual growth and development.