As a proud member of a Divine Nine sorority, Tish Norman is aware that the stakes are high. That is why she is steadfast in her belief that members of D9 fraternities and sororities should recognize that we march to the beat of a different drum. In a powerful conversation, Tish talks about how the pressure of being knowledgeable, constantly watched, and strategic in recruiting may seem unfair, but it's real. 

About the Guest

Tish Norman is a native of Cleveland, Ohio, and a proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. She is the executive director of Transforming Leaders Now Inc., an educational consulting company that specializes in college and career readiness, women’s leadership, and the African-American experience. Tish started her career in the classroom in Cincinnati, teaching 3rd and 4th grade. After being crowned Miss Black Cincinnati, she took her gifts to Hollywood. Whether it was commercials, music videos, game shows, documentaries, or sitcoms, Tish did it all!​ After 10 years in Hollywoodland, Tish found herself back in the classroom. 

Out of an amalgamation of all of her professional experiences in education, pageantry, and acting, one day, Tish found her sweet spot on stage, delivering a keynote to 500 high school students. She loved it! ​Now, almost 20 years later, as a professional speaker and having delivered over 1000 presentations, Tish’s unparalleled energy, delivery style, and stirring keynotes have become favorites among universities, associations, and leadership conferences from coast to coast.​ 

Tish is a contributing author of several articles and three books:  From Mediocre to Magnificent, Leading the Way, and BLACKOUT: Real Issues and Real Solutions to Real Challenges Facing Black Student Affairs Professionals.​ A graduate of Kentucky State University, Tish has a master’s in education from Pepperdine University and is a doctoral student in Pan-African studies, where her research focuses on memory and the Black sorority.​ Based in Atlanta and having spoken in 45 states and 14 countries, Tish still maintains an active speaking schedule, keynoting at dozens of campuses and leadership conferences every year.

Ali Hornung's passion for giving goes beyond philanthropy. It's about hope. A nonprofit leader and speaker, Ali joined Ethocast to talk about how she managed grief in college and the importance of college students managing their grief. The Sigma Delta Tau member reveals that grief doesn't just have a personal impact, but it also affects academic performance and student leadership responsibilities. Her story explains perfectly why it's important for brothers and sisters to be there for each other, fully.

About the Guest

Alison Hornung is a passionate childhood cancer advocate and the former Miss Rhode Island 2024. A graduate of the University of Rhode Island, she holds degrees in global business management, German, and human development & family sciences. Ali's advocacy began at age 12, inspired by her honorary “little sister” Ella, who courageously battled leukemia for three years. Ella’s strength continues to drive Alison’s mission to bring comfort, hope, and tangible support to children and families facing cancer.

As the founder of the Glimmer of Hope Foundation, Ali has raised nearly $1 million to support childhood cancer awareness and holistic health initiatives. Her work has led her from local communities to national platforms, including speaking before Congress and serving on a panel at the White House for President Joe Biden’s Cancer Moonshot initiative.

Through Glimmer of Hope, Ali provides bald dolls to children undergoing treatment, empowers families with programming and resources, and champions legislation to fund pediatric cancer research. Ali’s efforts have made her a nationally recognized voice for change and a tireless advocate for families navigating the unimaginable.

Working in student affairs at your alma mater sounds like fun...right? Maybe; maybe not. Darius Woodfork is doing just that at Southeastern Louisiana University, where he was initiated into his fraternity and now serves as the assistant director of student engagement. Darius joined Ethocast to talk about what he has learned, the real deal about his work, and what kinds of leaders he would like to see his students become.

About the Guest

Darius Woodfork is the assistant director of student engagement for fraternity and sorority life at Southeastern Louisiana University (SELU), where he is dedicated to fostering meaningful and inclusive experiences within the Greek community. He holds both a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and a master’s degree in strategic communication from SELU, grounding his work in a strong understanding of community, leadership, and effective communication. Driven by the belief in meeting students where they are, Darius centers his work on understanding individual journeys and empowering students to grow with confidence and purpose. His passion for student development guides his mission to create environments where every student feels supported, valued, and equipped to thrive. Darius was initiated into Omega Psi Fraternity Inc. at SELU.

This episode starts with an announcement that the Black Greek Success Program is now The D9 Leadership Blueprint! But that's not it! College members of the National Pan-Hellenic Council now have access to a comprehensive leadership guide called The D9 Leadership Blueprint: Personal Leadership, Ubuntu, and Collective Impact.

Episode 28 of Ethocast also dives into New Year's Resolutions for the Divine Nine. College D9 members will hear three resolutions designed to help them strengthen their personal leadership so that they end the academic year on a strong note in their chapters and on their campuses.

Phaith Frazier began Grown and Greek® as a celebration of the service and achievements of members of the Divine 9. Host of the podcast of the same name, Phaith visited "Ethocast" to talk about why she took such an interest in the stories of National Pan-Hellenic Council Greeks, how she sees the D9 pooling resources for community progress, the criticism that D9 Greeks don't do enough, and how the D9 can cultivate the next generation of leaders.

Phaith was initiated into Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. at the University of Montevallo in Alabama. You can see full episodes of the Grown and Greek® Podcast on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@GrownandGreekPodcast.

About the Guest

Phaith Frazier is a marketing professional from Pell City, Alabama and a professional DJ known as DJ Chocolate. She also runs Eventful Media Group, Inc. and the luxury accessory and philanthropic-focused brand Grown and Greek®. She is also a ZeroZero Foundation board member. 

Phaith has a strong body of work as a marketing expert in professional sports, entertainment, media, and business. Her professional career includes marketing director for a regional food distributor, manager of marketing and graphics for the New Orleans Pelicans G-League affiliate, the Birmingham Squadron, and marketing manager for a cluster of radio stations in Huntsville, Alabama, that included Country, Urban AC, News/Talk, Sports, and Contemporary Hit Radio music formats.  Phaith’s expertise in branding and marketing made her indispensable to the teams she has worked with.

Phaith’s ties to Alabama run deep.  She built an impressive personal brand as both a radio personality and an international DJ.  During her high school years, Phaith was part of the Pell City High School state basketball championship team. She continued playing at the University of Montevallo, where she competed in the Final Four.

Her passion for giving back and helping impactful causes reflects her diverse background and unique experiences, which also include working abroad teaching English as a second language in South Korea! Phaith is also a talented artist who draws, paints, and performs in local theater. She spent three years traveling the country with a national theater company. 

Philanthropy is about more than money. It's about people and wanting to see a better world. When our fraternities and sororities engage in philanthropic partnerships and participate in our national programs, it should be about more than fulfilling requirements. It should be about leadership. This episode explores building that leadership through philanthropy.

"Ethocast" is presented by Edify Ventures, LLC.

What does it mean to be oneself in a fraternity or sorority? In the Divine 9, fraternities and sororities that are members of the National Pan-Hellenic Council, the idea of identity can be somewhat contentious because of our lifelong commitment to our organizations. This episode explores individual identity and how it complements or clashes with our D9 membership.

Disclaimer:  I am neither a spokesperson for any Divine 9 organization nor the National Pan-Hellenic Council.

Tom Murphy was born into fraternity life--no, really. It also means that Tom has a deep appreciation for fraternity (and sorority) life and the value that it holds for students. In this episode, Tom visits to talk about how, as a legacy member of Phi Mu Delta, he grew up in fraternity life and gravitated toward FSL leadership, even guiding him to become the executive director of the Northeast Greek Leadership Association.

About the Guest

Tom Murphy has been recognized as an innovative and progressive leader in the fraternity/sorority industry for nearly 30 years. Most recently, he served as the executive director of Phi Mu Delta Fraternity for seventeen years. Before Phi Mu Delta, Tom was an experienced fraternity/sorority advisor with positions at Gustavus Adolphus College, Lycoming College, and Monmouth University. Prior to his professional role with Phi Mu Delta, Tom served on the fraternity’s National Council, serving as vice president and national president. 

Tom has been recognized by his peers with the Association of Fraternity/Sorority Advisors' Sue Kraft Fussell Distinguished Service Award and NGLA’s Phillipi Award and Guenzler Award. In addition, he has served on the North-American Interfraternity Conference’s Governing Council, the AFA Foundation Board, and the Board of Directors of the Fraternity Executives Association.

Tom understands the power of a strong and thriving fraternity community on campus. In particular, Tom is dedicated to empowering the Interfraternity Council and campus fraternities to be transformative agents and to provide superior experiences for their members. 

Maria Maldonado Smith gets into the neuroscience and benefits of goal-setting. The leadership coach and speaker visited "Ethocast" to talk about how goal-setting fits into college fraternity and sorority life as well as the importance of members leaning on each other to meet their goals.

About the Guest

Maria Maldonado Smith is the chief empowerment officer of MMS Consulting Firm and creator of the Executive Vision Imagery program. After 18 years of award-winning success in the corporate space, working as a sales leader for Fortune 500 companies across three different industries, Maria brings her unparalleled combination of experience to her proprietary process and interactive training, helping companies understand the neuroscience and benefits of goal-setting for their employees. She equips leaders, employees and organizations to clearly define goals and create a roadmap to achieving them, which allows for better alignment with corporate culture, leading to increased productivity and profitability.

Maria has served numerous national and international clients, including U.S. House of Representatives, Johnson & Johnson, Disney, Paramount Studios, and Constellation Brands. Growing up as the daughter of an immigrant parent, goal-setting has always been a way of life for Maria. At age 9, she set goals to become the first college graduate in her family and to earn the title of Miss Kentucky. Maria graduated from the University of Kentucky with a degree in political science, won the title of Miss Kentucky, and competed in Miss America in 2005.

A sister of the Beta Psi chapter of Alpha Delta Pi, Maria served as executive vice president and began honing her leadership and professional development skills. Her proprietary process has been an essential practice in achieving these goals and many more throughout her career and personal life. Maria has performed twice at Carnegie Hall and sang the National Anthem for an audience of over 120,000. She and her husband of 20 years raise their three children in a loving and encouraging environment where anything is possible when you set a goal and create a vision for it.

Fraternity and sorority life has no shortage of big personalities. So, what is a chapter to do when almost everyone's personality takes center stage? This episode is dedicated to applying the Big 5 Model of Personality to those chapter brothers and sisters, so that everyone can better understand each other.