Chapter leadership
Seven students lead our chapter this year. They plan our meetings, organize our projects, help members prepare for competition, and represent Lafayette at every conference.
The officer team
Julie Li, our President, oversees Finance, Competition, and Leadership. Charlie Reed, our Executive Vice President, oversees Marketing and Hospitality. Each vice president leads one area of the chapter. If you have a question about competitive events, Graham McDonald, our VP of Competition, is a great place to start.
Julie Li
Charlie Reed
Haiwen Shi
Jiya Sheth
Graham McDonald
Alexandra Joiner-Garcia
Athena Saturday
What we expect from officers
Being an officer is a real commitment, and the whole chapter counts on the officer team. Here's what that looks like during the year. Every officer will:
- Attend every member meeting and every leadership meeting.
- Have meeting materials ready by the Friday before each member meeting.
- Reply to messages from Mr. Hoertz or Mr. Hackman within 24 hours.
- Meet every deadline.
Leadership meetings are called as needed during the weeks between member meetings, which gives officers time to prepare. Busy stretches happen to everyone, so if something is making it hard to keep up, talk with Mr. Hoertz or Mr. Hackman early and we'll figure out a plan together.
You don't need a title to run something
Every vice president builds a team of members around their area during the year. That's how most of our officers got their start, and any member is welcome to join one.
Pick an area
Choose competition, finance, hospitality, leadership, or marketing, whichever one you'd actually want to spend your time on.
Ask the vice president
Let the vice president who leads that area know you'd like to help. There's no application and no vote, because each vice president builds their own team.
Run it next year
Officer applications open every spring, and the members who've already jumped in and done the work are the ones who stand out.
Chapter advisors
Mr. Hoertz and Mr. Hackman both teach Business and Marketing at Lafayette, and they advise the chapter alongside the officer team.
Mr. Hoertz
Chapter advisor · Business and Marketing
Mr. Hoertz is your go-to for membership, dues, competitive events, and conference travel. Email him about anything, including whether DECA is a good fit for you. He'd much rather you ask than guess.
Mr. Hackman
Chapter advisor · Business and Marketing, Engineering Technology
Mr. Hackman rejoins the chapter as an advisor this year. He also teaches Engineering Technology, so if your competitive event leans more toward product design or operations than marketing, he's a great person to talk to.
Every leader starts as a member.
Our officers all started out as members who showed up to a meeting. Find the vice president whose area interests you and let them know you'd like to help.