By Greg “Howie” Howell, Pacific (CA)

Long before email. Before shared documents. Before real-time collaboration tools. Leadership in Delta Sigma Pi required something simpler—and often harder.

You showed up.

You made the phone calls.

You drove to the event.

“You just figured it out,” Joan Nason, Bowling Green State (OH), says with a smile.

That mindset would shape her leadership journey—and ultimately, her impact on the Leadership Foundation.

The Beginning: Showing Up

Before she became the first woman to serve as Chair and President of the Leadership Foundation (2000-2002), Joan was doing something much less formal—but far more important. She was building relationships.

At Bowling Green State University, Joan found Delta Sigma Pi during a period when women were still relatively new to the Fraternity. But from the beginning, her experience was shaped by people who believed in opening doors.

One of the first members who shaped her experience was Beth Keith (2022-2024 Leadership Foundation Chair and President) and that connection never faded. Decades later, they are still connected—not just as Deltasigs, but as lifelong friends. That theme—relationships that last—runs throughout Joan’s story.

The Road Trip Queen

Joan laughs when she talks about the early years. “I was the road trip queen.” She went to everything. Sometimes all she had was the name of a park, a hotel, or a city—and somehow, she found it. That’s how you got involved then, you showed up.

Encouraged by her Deltasig leaders, Joan expanded her network far beyond her chapter. By graduation, she had visited nearly every chapter in her region.

“That’s how you get to know people,” she says. “You show up.” And those relationships would shape every leadership opportunity that followed.

Stepping Into the Unknown

Joan didn’t chase titles. But titles found her. District Director. Regional Director (now Regional Vice President). National leadership opportunities. Each step happened because she stayed connected and kept asking a simple question:

“What do I need to do next?” That same mindset followed her to the Leadership Foundation. When she was first approached about getting involved, her response was immediate—and honest.

“I told them, I’m not doing the books,” she says, laughing. At the time, much of the Leadership Foundation’s work centered heavily around accounting and structure. She wasn’t an accountant. And that was exactly why they needed her.

Creating Alignment

When Joan stepped into leadership, the Leadership Foundation was at a crossroads. Multiple entities had merged. Governance structures were evolving. There were strong leaders, strong opinions, and not always a clear sense of shared direction. The challenge didn’t derive from a lack of talent. It was too much of it, pulling in different directions.

Joan didn’t try to control the room, instead she structured it. “I wasn’t there to have all the answers,” she says. “I was there to make the process work. This mantra became her leadership philosophy.

Turning Conversation into Progress

Joan brought discipline to leadership conversations. She sent agendas weeks in advance and connected with members on a one-on-one level. This way, progress had already begun before the meetings officially started. Her preparation beforehand turned discussion into decisions, and decisions into momentum.

Building What Didn’t Exist

Under Joan’s leadership, the Leadership Foundation didn’t just improve, it evolved. New giving levels were introduced that once felt too ambitious to consider. Governance structures were strengthened. Investment policies were created. Processes that simply didn’t exist before were built from the ground up.

“We didn’t have it,” she says simply. “We had to build it.” The Leadership Foundation culture changed, shifting from maintaining funds to actively stewarding legacy.

The Legacy

Joan never viewed leadership through the lens of being “the first woman” Chair and President of the Foundation. She focused on what needed to get done. But her leadership mattered—and still does. Not because she broke barriers, but because she built systems and helped make the Leadership Foundation stronger for everyone who followed.

Her advice today reflects that same philosophy: “Stay involved—at whatever level you can.” Don’t try to do everything yourself. Choose the impactful things and bring others with you, because leadership, at its best, isn’t about individual recognition. It’s about making sure the work continues.

View the other new articles dedicated to celebrating the anniversary of 50 year of women initiates in Delta Sigma Pi.

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