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.
Lydia Peele Kinkade ’09, Overland Park, Kansas, assumed the leadership of the board as the 2026-27 chair at the annual meeting. She is the managing director of iiM, LLC. She succeeds Jeff Ellison ’90, St. Joseph, Missouri, who now fills the immediate past-chair position until June 2027. He is principal architect at Ellison-Auxier Architects. Jake Worcester ’01, Kansas City, Missouri, will serve as chair-elect. He is vice president of development for the National 4-H Council.
In a general election this spring, members of the Alumni Association approved a slate of five new members of the board of directors.
These K-Staters also began their four-year terms at the board’s annual meeting and will continue to June 2029.
They are Julie Lindamood Denner ’98, Olathe, Kansas, a registered nurse specializing in labor and delivery at Olathe Medical Center; Patrick “Pat” Parke ’79, ’81, Hays, Kansas, CEO of Midwest Energy Inc.; Karen Ellenz Pestinger, Beloit, Kansas, president and CFO of Carrico Implement Co. Inc.; Gordon Rourk ’84, Dallas, Texas, who recently retired after more than 30 years in the aviation industry; and Carolyn Birch Swann ’79, Keller, Texas, a community volunteer and KSU Foundation Trustee.
Additional board leadership includes Audrey Mross ’80, Dallas, Texas, board treasurer; Steven Theede ’74, Houston, Texas, 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 Samuel Vogel, Shawnee, Kansas, 2026-27 Student Alumni Board president, and Christian Peña, Sublett, Kansas, K-State student body president for the 2026-27 school year.
Outgoing members recognized for their service to the Alumni Association’s board of directors were Link Evans ’82, The Woodlands, Texas; Phil Kirk ’89, Oak Grove, Missouri; Tonya Rudolph Barta ’91, Holton, Kansas; Jill Stehley Harrison ’26, Prairie Village, Kansas; and Kelly Williams ’03, Arcadia, Oklahoma.
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, 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.”