SHARING PROFESSIONAL TALENT AND PERSONAL TIME WITH ZTA

By Christy Marx Barber, Staff Writer

A CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional for a national wealth management company.

A director of sustainability and procurement for an international beverage company.

A registered interior designer creating workspaces for multiple iconic corporations.

What do the three professionals have in common? Talent and career success? Yes, of course. And, fortunately for ZTA, they willingly share their time and talents as volunteers for the Fraternity Housing Corporation.

The FHC has 133 volunteers serving as committee members, Area Housing Coordinators or Housing Advisors. In this issue, we introduce you to Deb Minnick, Rachel Guthrie and Ashley Rose.

Deb Bridgers Minnick

Alpha Xi Chapter, Indiana University FHC Finance Committee Member

Senior Vice President, Capital Wealth Advisors

Deb’s career experience includes managing loan portfolios for the wealth management groups of super-regional banks. She applies that knowledge in her FHC role by reviewing current loans and new financing offers for construction and remodeling projects. “We ask important questions and determine if we need to fight harder for different terms,” she said. “When we borrow money, it has repercussions. We always want to align those actions with our purpose.”

That purpose includes operating in the best interest of the ZTA membership. “We have to act on behalf of the past, present and future members of the chapter,” she said. “Each committee takes that purpose to heart. We have healthy debate. We need to know the why as well as the how and what.”

Deb served nine years on the Chapter Financial Management Committee, helping collegiate chapters balance budgets. Serving on the FHC has allowed her to see ZTA from the flip side of using funds to make housing possible. “I now have a greater appreciation for the house I lived in and the house my daughter lived in. I want to preserve that legacy,” she said. “The FHC volunteers are smart, resourceful women who do everything they can for this era of college students who have lived through COVID and a changing financial picture for their parents. Living in a ZTA house can provide stability for them.”

Rachel Guthrie

Eta Theta Chapter, Missouri University of Science and Technology

Area Housing Coordinator

Director of Sustainability and Procurement for Anheuser-Busch

Rachel leads the implementation of Anheuser-Busch’s aluminum purchasing contracts in North America. That involves supervising corporate contracts and getting materials where they need to be. For ZTA, she supervises the housing facilities in eastern Missouri.

In both roles, she handles emergencies, like a beer production facility that doesn’t have enough aluminum cans or a ZTA facility that has too much unwanted water. “At work, I fight figurative fires all the time,” Rachel said. “The most crucial ZTA situations seem to involve water, too much of it in the wrong places, and often after midnight. I’ve learned to be calm. The first step is to stop the situation from being a disaster and knowing who to contact to keep it from happening.”

Rachel honed her problem-solving skills by renovating her early-1900s St. Louis home with her husband, touching every inch of the house. “Through that experience and my job, I’ve learned technical troubleshooting and problem solving. I know the importance of meeting deadlines, reading contracts and communicating with contractors,” she said. “The correlation between my professional and ZTA work is very helpful.”

Rachel has a great appreciation for Housing Advisors and House Managers. “Even though they are not on the forefront of recruitment and sisterhood events, they are critical to a chapter’s experience,” she said. “They take pride in their house and their leadership roles, and that will help them in their careers and as homeowners.”

Ashley Rose

Alpha Upsilon Chapter, Oklahoma State University

FHC Design Committee Member

Registered Interior Designer at Gensler

Ashley has worked on the design teams for iconic Dallas corporations AT&T, American Airlines and the Dallas Cowboys. She joined the Design Committee in 2019, but, because the FHC suspended most projects due to COVID, the summer of 2022 was her first season of designing great spaces for ZTA.

“It’s a fascinating process behind the scenes,” Ashley said. “I lived in a chapter house for three years, and I knew it would be clean and have plenty of food, but I never thought about how hard alumnae worked to provide ZTA housing.”

The design committee members bring different areas of interest to the team. Ashley’s is studying the dimensions of the space to create a workable plan. “Do we have clearance for that sofa? What’s the best size for the area rug? Those are the things I look for,” she said. “I coordinate with the Area Housing Coordinator and Housing Advisor to be sure it will fit—especially if it will fit through the door.”

For one facility, Ashley designed a buffet and had it custom made for the facility, giving the chapter a beautiful space to show off its awards. “My favorite aspect is the before and after look and how much the collegiate members love it,” she said. “They know how well it benefits them in recruitment and they are so appreciative. The warm and fuzzy of it all is the best.”

FHC President Natalie Yingling

Lisko is grateful for volunteers who share their talent and time with ZTA. “Without the knowledge and experience of our volunteers,” she said, “the FHC could not have grown into a multimillion-dollar corporation, managing over 100 facilities. We owe much of our success to the talented women who serve as housing volunteers.”