Meet our Speakers

We are excited to share that ZTA will host two amazing Zeta speakers at Convention. Both of these talented women continue hearing the call of ZTA through both their personal and professional careers in advancing the business of sisterhood. Be sure to add these sessions to your agenda for Thursday when you will learn about the power of storytelling and how ZTA and the entire fraternal world goes beyond just our 259 links.

Heather Matthews

Delta Kappa Chapter, LSU alumna

Heather Matthews is an accomplished and strategic leader in communications and PR, who has invested her professional career into marketing the life-changing experience sororities and fraternities provide.

She started her career with 10 years as part of ZTA staff leading the areas of communication, education, extension and merchandising, as well as serving as a Leadership Consultant. Since then, she’s led communications strategy at the North American Interfraternity Conference (NIC), Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity and Kappa Delta Sorority. She’s worked with nearly 100 fraternal organizations, and as a communications consultant, she has led a team to guide almost 400 campus Panhellenics to elevate interest in the sorority experience.

She’s a graduate of Louisiana State University and Indiana University and lives in Indianapolis with her pups Rosie and Ruby (yes, named for that Ruby).

Sessions

Heather will use her expertise in marketing and storytelling to present two sessions—one for collegians and one for alumnae.

Collegiate Session: Telling the Story of Sisterhood
Every woman here knows the incredible power of being a Zeta! ZTA is where we find our people; where we learn to be true to ourselves; where we make a difference; and where we tap into our potential to seek the noblest in college and beyond! It’s time to share our story with the world … and you have main character energy. In this session, you’ll learn how YOU can have a huge impact on telling the ZTA story and marketing our sisterhood in ways that will build your personal brand, chapter brand and ZTA’s brand in the world.

Alumnae Session: Making Forever Zeta is Forever. It’s a mantra we learn early on, and, as a collegian, forever sure feels far off. Seniors are job searching, saying goodbyes and starting a new chapter in their lives. They know they’ll have “forever” to reconnect with ZTA, but for some of our alumnae, that connection never comes to fruition.

Together, we’ll explore five key strategies to bridge the ZTA experience from the collegiate to the alumnae world, to foster lifelong engagement and sisterhood.

Amy Davenport

Beta Delta Chapter, Miami alumna

Amy Davenport is a Policy Advisor at Arnold & Porter LLP in Washington, DC and has been working as a federal lobbyist for over a decade. She co-leads the firm's Education & Workforce Policy practice where some of her clients include major research universities, non-profit organizations, foundations, and companies in the education space.

Amy currently serves as the lead lobbyist for the National Panhellenic Conference and got her start in lobbying as a senior in college when she was selected to participate in the annual fraternity/sorority community advocacy day in DC. She now leads the team that organizes the annual lobbying day and has trained over 1,000 college students, including many ZTAs, over the years about how to advocate for issues of importance to the fraternity/sorority community at the federal level.

Amy attended Miami University in Oxford, Ohio and served as the Secretary for the Beta Delta chapter during her time on campus.

Session

Policy Perspectives: Federal Advocacy for Fraternity/Sorority Life in the Midst of a Changing Higher Education Landscape
Join us for an insightful session that will explore the dynamic intersection of federal policy and fraternity/sorority life within the evolving landscape of higher education. As part of this session, we will explore actionable strategies to advance and advocate for the fraternity/sorority experience amidst shifting trends in higher education and an increasingly partisan political environment at the federal level.