New leaders assume their roles on K-State Alumni Association board of directors
The K-State Alumni Association board of directors transitioned its membership and leadership June 6 during the board’s annual meeting in Manhattan, Kansas.
Jeff Ellison ’90, St. Joseph, Missouri, who served as chair-elect last year, assumed the leadership of the board as the 2025-26 chair at the annual meeting. He is principal architect at Ellison-Auxier Architects. He succeeds Chancy Montera Love ’07, Denver, Colorado, who now fills the immediate past-chair position until June 2026. She is managing partner of Protea Investments. Lydia Peele Kinkade ’09, Overland Park, Kansas, will serve as chair-elect. She is the managing director of iiM, LLC.
In a general election this spring, members of the Alumni Association approved a slate of five new members of the board of directors.
These alumni also began their four-year terms at the board’s annual meeting and will continue to June 2029.
They are Dr. Jamie Ball ’10, Platte City, Missouri, physician for Mosaic LifeCare; Ed Frey ’77, Wichita, Kansas, managing partner of the Credit Review Group, LLC; Christopher Merriewether ’10, Atlanta, Georgia, investment leasing officer and Atlanta market leader for EQT Real Estate; Scott Miller ’01, Parker, Colorado, mountain states business unit leader for DPR Construction; and Stephanie Grecian Siders ’05, Leawood, Kansas, investment banker and managing director of CC Capital Advisors.
Also joining the board is Audrey Mross ’80, Dallas, Texas, who is an attorney and senior partner at Munck Wilson Mandala LLP. Mross will serve as the board treasurer. Mross previously served as member of the board of directors from 2005-12 and served as chair from 2010-11.
Additional board leadership includes Charlene Farrell Lake ’83, Dallas, chair of the Kansas State University Foundation board of directors; Adam Walker ’04, ’09, Manhattan, president and CEO of the Alumni Association and board secretary; Greg Willems, Manhattan, president and CEO of the KSU Foundation; and K-State President Richard Linton, Manhattan.
Two K-State students filling yearlong standing appointments also assumed their seats on the board. They are Ibrahim Çiftçi, Manhattan, 2025-26 Student Alumni Board president, and Brady Kappelmann, Liberal, Kansas, K-State student body president for the 2025-26 school year.
Outgoing members recognized for their service to the Alumni Association’s board of directors were Morgan Fisher ’04, Doha, Qatar; Steve Lacy ’76, ’77, Des Moines, Iowa; John Niemann ’93, Mount Hope, Kansas; Karen Wiley Works ’76, Humbolt, Kansas; and Travis Lenkner ’01, London, England, who served as treasurer of the board from 2022-25.
Carter Warta, Victoria, Minnesota, 2024-25 Student Alumni Board president, and Paige Vulgamore, Scott City, Kansas, 2024-25 K-State student body president, were also recognized for their service.
“As one of only 22 private, self-governed alumni associations in the country, our board of directors are critical in fulfilling our mission to reach, connect and serve all K-Staters and our university,” Walker said. “I want to personally thank our outgoing members for their time, service and dedication to make us better. We are also excited to welcome our new members as we continue to build on our longstanding legacy of being a Top 10 alumni association nationally.”