Who We Are
Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated Epsilon Alpha Epsilon Zeta Chapter was chartered December 26, 2023 to service Fayette and Spalding county and the surrounding areas. Epsilon Alpha Epsilon Zeta has become one of the fastest growing graduate chapters chartered in the metropolitan Atlanta area and the first Zeta chapter to be chartered in two southern crescent counties in the state of Georgia, serving Fayette County, Georgia and Spalding County Georgia.
The history of the chapter began when seven members of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated met to discuss the feasibility of forming a chapter of the Sorority in Fayette County and Spalding County, Georgia. The consensus was that there was a need for a chapter in the areas. At that meeting and three subsequent meetings, plans were laid out to charter a new chapter. On March 20, 2024, Georgia State Director Tecia A.M. McKay presided over the ceremony that chartered Epsilon Alpha Epsilon Zeta Chapter.
Since its chartering, Epsilon Alpha Epsilon Zeta Chapter continues to fulfill its purpose in Fayette County and Spalding County. The chapter continues the commitment to carry on the tradition and root itself as a sisterhood that promotes scholarship and actively engages in community service and youth mentoring. Through partnerships with various organizations and agencies, we are implementing activities and providing services based on these targets so that Epsilon Alpha Epsilon Zeta Chapter will make a significant impact in the lives of individuals and the community we serve.
EAEZ Charter Members
LaDonna Watson
Shanda Ross
Dr. Helen Thomas
Priscilla Winters
Lollie Hickey
LaShonya Heard-Winston
Tonya Barnes-Grant
Nicole Graham-Wallace
Tanisha Parker
Cyd Cox
Our Heritage Began with Sisterhood. Our Focus Remains Service. Founded January 16, 1920, Zeta began as an idea conceived by five coeds at Howard University in Washington D.C.: Arizona Cleaver, Pearl Anna Neal, Myrtle Tyler, Viola Tyler and Fannie Pettie. These five women, also known as our Five Pearls, dared to depart from the traditional coalitions for black women and sought to establish a new organization predicated on the precepts of Scholarship, Service, Sisterly Love and Finer Womanhood. The “Five Pearls,” set out to establish a sisterhood that would help raise the consciousness of their people, encourage the highest standards of academic and personal achievement, and address the societal ills disproportionately affecting disadvantaged communities. Zeta was more than an organization-it was a movement. It was a belief system that reflected, at its core, the desire to provide true Service, to embrace Scholarship, to set a standard for Sisterly Love and to define the noble concept of Finer Womanhood. This belief has sustained and encouraged Zetas around the world to hold fast to the ideals initiated and developed by its earliest members.
LEARN MORE ABOUT ZETA
Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated
Dr. Stacie NC Grant
International President
www.zphib1920.org
Zeta Phi Beta, Southeastern Region
Vickie L. Pearson
Southeastern Regional Director
www.zphibseregion.org
Zeta Phi Beta, State of Georgia
Tecia A.M. McKay
Georgia State Director
www.zphibga.org
First Initiates
Although there were five Founders of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., there were many women who were initially interested but did not become a part of the founding group. Many feared the high academic standards they would need to meet to become a part of this new organization, others could not afford the initiation fee that appears nominal by today’s standards. However, soon after the light of Zeta shone clearly through our Five Pearls, there were twenty-five women eager to join the Zeta movement. Of these twenty-five, only four – Gladys Warrington, Harriet Dorsey, Pauline Philips and Nellie Singfield – went on to be initiated as a part of the second pledge class. Zeta Phi Beta took top scholastic honors on the Howard University campus when a member of this second pledge class, Pauline Phillips, graduated summa cum laude, thus setting a precedent of academic excellence still expected of Zeta members to this day.
Leadership
Our board of directors are thought leaders and dedicated volunteers who make a significant contribution to society. Each leader brings with her a unique set of skills, expertise and wisdom to help guide our organization.
President
Shanda Ross
First Vice President
Lollie Hickey
Second Vice President
Nicole Graham-Wallace
Secretary
LaSonya Winston-Heard
Assistant Secretary
Shannon Owens
Treasurer
Nichole Lewis
Parliamentarian
Priscilla Winters
