Sadie Tanner Mossell (T. M.) Alexander (Omega Omega Chapter)
1919-1923
1st National President (1919-1923)
Alexander was initiated at University of Pennsylvania at Gamma Chapter. She is the
first African-American woman to earn a Ph.D. in Economics and the first to be admitted
to the Pennsylvania Bar. President Harry S. Truman appointed her to the President’s
Committee on Civil Rights.
Delta Credit: May Week
G. Dorothy Pelham Beckley (Omega Omega Chapter)
1923-1926
2nd National President (1923-1926)
Beckley was a graduate of Howard University and daughter of the first honorary
member, Gabrielle Pelham.
Delta Credit: Internal Development of the Sorority
Ethel LaMay Calimese (Omega Omega Chapter)
1926-1929
3rd National President (1926-1929)
Calimese was one of seventeen graduates inducted into charter membership of the first
Negro fraternal organization on the campus of the University of Cincinnati, Zeta
Chapter.
Delta Credits: Delta Vigilance Committee
Anna Johnson Julian (Omega Omega Chapter)
1929-1931
4th National President (1929-1931)
Julian was a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania where she went on to receive a
masters and Doctorate in Sociology. She was the first African-American to be awarded
the Phi Beta Kappa key. She was the wife of Dr. Percy Julian.
Delta Credit: Incorporation of Grand Chapter
Gladys Byram Shepperd (Omega Omega Chapter)
1931-1933
5th National President (1931-1933)
Shepperd was initiated into Lambda Chapter while conducting post-graduate work at
the University of Chicago. She authored several books including a biographical sketch
entitled, “Mary Church Terrell: Respectable Person”.
Delta Credit: Delta National Boards
Jeannette Triplett Jones (Omega Omega Chapter)
1933-1935
6th National President (1933-1935)
Jones received her PhD from the University of Chicago. She was a teacher at Wendell
Phillips High School in the same city.
Delta Credit: Co-Designer of the Sorority Crest
Vivian Osborne Marsh (Omega Omega Chapter)
1935-1939
7th National President (1935-1939)
Marsh was initiated at the University of California in Kappa Chapter. She was extremely
active in the civil rights movement and lobbied with the NAACP on the anti-lynching bill
being considered in Congress. She received several honors and awards, namely the
California State Senate and the City of Berkeley, CA.
Delta Credit: National Library Project
Elsie Austin (Omega Omega Chapter)
1939-1944
8th National President (1939-1944)
Austin attended the University of Cincinnati where she earned a bachelor's degree and
juris doctorate. She was the first African-American woman to become assistant attorney
general of the state of Ohio. Dr. Austin won a string of awards, including two honorary
doctorates.
Delta Credit: Job Analysis
Mae Wright Downs Peck Williams (Omega Omega Chapter)
1944-1947
9th National President (1944-1947)
Williams was a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Tufts University and received a Master
Degree from New York University. She served as the President of the National PanHellenic Council.
Delta Credit: Book Baskets
Dorothy Irene Height
1947-1956
10th National President (1947-1956)
Height attended New York University where she earned her master's degree. She was
the president of the National Council of Negro Women from 1957-1997. President
Ronald Reagan presented her the Citizens Medal Award for distinguished service to the
country in 1989. President George Bush awarded her the Congressional Medal of
Honor in 2004.
Delta Credit: Purchase of National Headquarters Building
Dorothy Penman Harrison
1956-1958
11Th National President (1956-1958)
Harrison attended Ohio State University and earned her Masters Degree from
Oklahoma A&M University. She was married to the President of Langston University
where she received her Honorary Doctorate Degree.
Delta Credit: Delta Christmas Party
Dr. Jeanne L. Noble (Omega Omega Chapter)
1958-1963
12th National President (1958-1963)
Noble earned her undergraduate, Masters and doctoral degrees from Howard University
and Columbia University. She was a professor of education and one of the first AfricanAmerican women to receive tenure at New York University. Presidents Nixon and Ford
appointed her to serve on national educational commissions.
Delta Credit: Social Action Commission
Geraldine Pittman Woods (Omega Omega Chapter)
1963-1967
13th National President (1963-1967)
Woods attended Howard, Radcliffe and Harvard Universities. She was instrumental in
the development of the Minority Access to Research Careers of the National Institute of
Health. She was the first African American woman appointed to the National Advisory
General Medical Services Council.
Delta Credit: Delta Teen-Lift
Frankie Muse Freeman
1967-1971
14th National President (1967-1971)
Freeman attended Hampton University and received a J.D. degree from Howard
University School of Law. She is the author of A Song of Faith and Hope: The Life of
Frankie Muse Freeman. Appointed by President Lyndon B Johnson, she was the first
woman to serve on the United States Civil Rights Commission.
Delta Credit: Civil Rights Activism
Lillian Pierce Benbow (Omega Omega Chapter)
1971-1975
15th National President (1971-1975)
Benbow was a graduate of Lemoyne Owen College and studied at the University of
Michigan and the Detroit College of Law. She served as the Assistant Director of
Housing programs for the Michigan Civil Rights Commission.
Delta Credit: Delta Arts & Letter Commission
Thelma Thomas Daley
1975-1979
16th National President (1975-1979)
Daley attended Bowie State University, New York University and received her Ed.D. in
counseling from The George Washington University. She has served as President of
four national organizations including the American Counseling Association.
Delta Credit: Distinguished Professor Endowed Chair
Mona Humphries Bailey
1979-1983
17th National President (1979-1983)
Bailey attended FAM University where she was selected and honored as one of the 100
most influential FAMUANS of the century. She has served as Deputy Superintendent of
Seattle Public Schools.
Delta Credits: Burn The Mortgage Campaign
Hortense Golden Canady
1983-1988
18th National President (1983-1988)
Canady attended Fisk University and received a master degree from Michigan State
University. She was the first African American elected to the Lansing Board of
Education and is a Founding member of the Les Meres et Debutantes of Greater
Lansing Michigan.
Delta Credit: Delta Leadership Academy
Yvonne Kennedy
1988-1992
19th National President (1988-1992)
Kennedy was initiated at Alabama State University. She received her MA from Morgan
State University in Baltimore, Maryland and Ph.D. from the University of Alabama. She
was the first African American appointed to the presidency of Bishop State Community
College, and the first and only African American woman elected to the House of
Representatives from Mobile County.
Delta Credits: School America
Bertha Maxwell Roddey
1992-1996
20th National President (1992-1996)
Roddey attended Johnson C. Smith University, received a master's degree from the
University of North Carolina and a doctorate in education from the Union Graduate
School in Cincinnati, Ohio. She was the first black principal at an all-white Mecklenburg
County school and the first black teacher at UNCC. She is the Co-Founder of the AfroAmerican Cultural Center in North Carolina.
Delta Credit: Habitat for Humanity Delta Partnership
Marcia L Fudge
1996-2000
21st National President (1996-2000)
Fudge was initiated at The Ohio State University. She received her J.D. from Cleveland
Marshall College of Law, Cleveland State University in 1983. She is the first African
American female elected to the office of Mayor of Warrensville Heights, Ohio.
Delta Credits: The Betty Shabazz Delta Academy
Gwendolyn E. Boyd
2000-2004
22nd National President (2000-2004)
Boyd was initiated at Alabama State University. She was the first African American
female to earn a Master of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Yale
University. She is an engineer and the Assistant for Development Programs at the
Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory.
Delta Credits: International Day of Service –AIDS Awareness