Foundation Matters

Volume 5 - Issue 4 | October 15, 2025

Cathy Tenney, Editor

A Word or Two from the Board…

Greetings with Gratitude!

It was a delight to speak about ADSOEF and to meet many sisters at the OHSO Fall Executive Board Meeting on September 27, 2025! Your support, enthusiasm, interest, and desire to support future educators are truly inspiring. Thank you!

Nine committees have been formed for this fiscal year and are hard at work to accomplish their goals. Three committees were detailed in the August newsletter, and three more were described in the September issue. The final three will be highlighted here: the Biennial Seminar, Nominating, and Personnel Committees.

There are many exciting articles to share with you. Keep reading for news about the launch of the Fundraising Campaign by L’Artiste Holly Buente and a beautifully written heartfelt thank-you letter from Lesa Triyanti, an A. Margaret Boyd Fellowship recipient.

With thankfulness,

Chris Snoddy and

The ADSOEF Board of Directors

Biennial Seminar Committee

In 2017, when ADSOEF was established, the Ohio State Organization transferred its Biennial Seminar funds to the Foundation, designating it as the financial agent responsible for managing and enhancing those funds on behalf of its members. At the OHSO Executive Board Meeting on September 27, 2025, a motion was passed designating ADSOEF as both the manager and coordinator of the Biennial Seminar. So, this committee is new this year.

Currently, the committee is making preparations for the 2027 seminar!

We invite input from all members regarding the Biennial Seminars. Your feedback is highly valued, and we encourage you to review and consider the following questions and concerns.

How can we best serve our membership when offering a Biennial Seminar?
What is your format preference: speaker-led presentations or visits to various historical locations throughout the state?
If trips to various places in Ohio are preferable, what needs to be considered when choosing the location?
Is cost a major factor in deciding to attend a Biennial Seminar? Are the seminars too expensive?

Please let the committee know your thoughtful feedback and suggestions and/or ideas! We are eager to hear from you. Send your input to the chairman’s email below.

Linda Diltz, Beta Rho

Michele Maniskas, Alpha Xi

Diana Kirkpatrick, Alpha Delta, Chairman

kirkpatrickdiana@gmail.com

Nominating Committee

The Nominating Committee is charged with filling openings on the ADSOEF Board of Directors (BOD). The BOD is the governing body of the Foundation. As a director and the Nominating Committee Chairman, I am asking all OHSO members to consider serving as a director. Some of the opportunities are listed below:

promoting ADSOEF’s mission and purposes,
having an active role in assuring the preservation of the Foundation’s legal and ethical integrity,
serving as an advocate for ADSOEF to OHSO chapters,
assisting in fundraising,
managing funds so ADSOEF’s mission will continue far into the future,
governing and approving scholarships, grants, and fellowships, and
witnessing the use of funds to enrich educational excellence.

Please consider this opportunity to expand your horizons. As in our Bylaws, a total of five directors will be elected in the Spring of 2026. Two nominees are needed to serve 2-year terms (2026-2028), and three to serve for 3-year terms (2026-2029). Go to adsoef.org and click on the Applications and Forms tab to apply. The application is due by February 1, 2026, to Hannah Fairbanks.

Nominating Committee:

Hannah Fairbanks, Gamma Theta, Chairman

Debbie Canter, Delta Epsilon

Tammy Schroeder, Beta Eta

Marilyn Slusser, Delta Kappa

Personnel Committee

The Personnel Committee is a brand new committee formed in July 2025. The Governance Committee recommended forming this group to establish the policy and procedures necessary to contract and retain needed service providers, currently the editor (Foundation Matters) and the webmaster (adsoef.org).

The members are hard at work revising the initial policy and procedures documents written by the Governance Committee, writing the job responsibilities of the committee, editor, and webmaster, and creating timelines for the committee’s work.

The Board of Directors is very grateful that Jane Meese agreed to be the chairman of this committee, as she helped craft many of the governing documents when ADSOEF was formed in 2017. She has much expertise in researching and writing foundational papers. The other committee members also have great knowledge and skill in creating personnel and policy documents. Thank you to all of them for agreeing to serve on the committee!

Lisa Frasure, Alpha Xi

Dr. Norma Kirby, Alpha Delta

Kathy McClendon, Zeta

Jane Meese, Alpha Xi, Chairman

Thank You from Lesa Triyanti

A. Margaret Boyd Fellowship Recipient

Dear ADSOEF,

Receiving the Fulbright scholarship and the A. Margaret Boyd Fellowship has truly been a dream come true. What once felt like an impossible hope turned into a life-changing reality, giving me the chance to study Instructional Design and Technology at the University of Cincinnati. This journey shaped me not only as a student, but as a person who has grown through every challenge, lesson, and relationship along the way.

In the classroom, I gained knowledge that will stay with me forever. Learning from professors who are experts in their field taught me much more than theories or strategies; they showed me how education can be designed to truly empower students. Discovering how to create meaningful learning experiences that help others succeed was one of the most rewarding parts of my studies. It deepened my belief that education is not just about passing on knowledge but about opening doors and giving people the confidence to thrive.

What made my time in Ohio even more special were the people and the community who surrounded me. I am especially grateful to Della Sari, Marilyn Slusser, and Sandy Lingo, who cared for me in ways I never expected. They checked in on me, supported me when I needed it most, and made sure I never felt alone. Della, especially, was there from the day I arrived in Cincinnati until the day I left, and I will always treasure her kindness and encouragement. Their generosity reminded me that sometimes the greatest lessons come not from books, but from the people who walk beside us.

Volunteering with the OH Book Bus was another highlight of my stay in the U.S. As someone who loves being around children, becoming a reading buddy once or twice a month was a simple joy that meant so much to me. Sitting with children, sharing stories, and seeing their excitement reminded me why I chose education as my path. My sincere thanks go to Sandy Lingo for opening this door for me, it gave me the chance to combine my love of teaching with serving the community in a way I will never forget.

Coming from Indonesia, where we only have two seasons, experiencing fall, winter, spring, and summer was an adventure. Fall and winter especially became my favorites. The crisp air, the changing leaves, and the quiet beauty of snow all taught me that change is constant, sometimes difficult, but always filled with new beginnings. Each season felt like a reflection of the growth I was experiencing within myself.

Another memorable part of my journey was working at the Learning by Design Lab during Digital Futures, University of Cincinnati the spring semester. Through Project Learn, I helped administer language assessments for preschool children, gaining hands-on experience with tools like CELF and PLAI-2. It was meaningful work that gave me a deeper understanding of early childhood language development, while also allowing me to visit places in Ohio I might never have seen such as Piketon, Waverly, Chillicothe, and Middletown. Each trip was not only about research, but also about connecting with communities and seeing how education shapes lives in every corner.

Looking back, I realize my time in the U.S. was about so much more than earning a degree. It was about being welcomed into a community, learning resilience, giving back where I could, and carrying home values that will guide me for years to come.

Thank you, DKG, for making this journey possible. Your support gave me the chance to live this dream, and I will carry the impact of your generosity for the rest of my life. I hope to return to the U.S. one day, but for now, I am excited to take everything I have learned and experienced back to Indonesia, where I will work to strengthen education and give to others the kind of opportunities that were given to me.

With deepest gratitude and warm regards,

Lesa Maria Triyanti

FUNDRAISING CAMPAIGN KICKOFF

The 2025-2026 ADSOEF Fundraising Campaign, Colors of Hope—Help Us Paint a Brighter Future, was launched on Saturday, September 27, 2025, at the OHSO Fall Executive Board Meeting. The Fundraising Committee has set the goal at $14,000.88, upping the ante from last year’s $10,000.87. The $0.88 is to honor OHSO’s 88th anniversary.

This campaign is about coming together as a community of educators to lift other educators and future educators. Every contribution will add a color of hope. Each $1,000 donation adds another vibrant paint color to the palette. Your generosity will provide educators with the tools, training, and opportunities they need to inspire the next generation.

We can all Help Paint a Brighter Future by supporting the grants, fellowships, classroom and community projects, and scholarships of ADSOEF. Honor a special person in your life or provide a meaningful remembrance by donating to one of the ADSOEF funds. By adding $0.88 to your donation, you will also be remembering and celebrating the 88th OHSO anniversary.

So, join us! Let’s pick up our brushes, add our colors, and together paint a brighter, more hopeful future for those who dedicate their lives to education. Donations can be made online at Colors of Hope: Help Us Paint a Brighter Future.

The ADSOEF Fundraising Committee,

Charlene Greene, Delta Mu

Annie Zahradnik, Gamma Theta

Holly Buente, Gamma Pi, Co-Chairman

Barb Zirke, Alpha Psi, Co-Chairman

Esther H. Strickland Student Teaching Grant Recipients

At the OHSO Fall Executive Board Meeting, it was brought to our attention that the list of recipients of the student teaching grants had not been published. The names and universities of the grantees were announced during the Birthday Luncheon at the OHSO State Convention in April 2025, but that list has not been printed yet. So, here it is!

Zyair Anderson, University of Cincinnati

Graeme Banks, Miami University

Marina DeNunzio, Miami University

Riley Galloway, Shawnee State University

Shelby Haffner, Miami University

Ava Jenkins, Shawnee State University

Riley Johnson, Ohio University

Caroline Kerby, Miami University

Kate Krawiec, Ohio University

Kaylee Maynard, Shawnee State University

Riley Merritt, Youngstown State University

Gretchen Millhouse, Miami University

Zoe Reid, Ohio University

Amber Roth, OSU Marion Campus

Kayla Smith, Ohio University

Alice Somers, University of Cincinnati

Grace Williams, Miami University

Caedmon Wood, Ohio University

Harley Woods, Ohio University

Amelia Woollard, Ohio University Eastern Campus

Dr. Norma Kirby

Holly Buente

In honor of Linda Diltz

Delta Chi Chapter

Beta Lambda Chapter

In memory of Delane Kittel

Gamma Upsilon Chapter

In honor of Gamma Upsilon's 60th Anniversary

In Memory of Virginia Koch

Virginia Koch passed away on September 29. Virginia was an active member of Alpha Nu Chapter and served as OHSO State President from 2007-2009. In lieu of flowers donations in memory of Virginia (Ginny) may be made to the Esther H. Strickland Student Teaching Grant.

Link to Make a Donation