Ellen Rodkey
Ellen Rodkey had heard good things about Tri Kappa for several years before she finally found a personal connection with a member.
“I asked Moriah Sowders about it,” Ellen says. “I really wanted to get more involved with a service organization.”
Moriah jumped at the chance to welcome her into the sisterhood.
Ellen grew up in Bay City, Texas, which is outside Houston. She studied education at Baylor University, where she was a member of the Tri Delt sorority. She came to Indiana University for graduate school and finished her master’s in public health.
After finding a cute fellow biking enthusiast named Adam, she decided to make Btown home.
“I was having a drink after a ride with a couple of my biking buddies at Macri’s and they had Adam show up,” Ellen laughs. “When he got there, the other two left immediately.”
After college, Ellen worked for the House Energy and Commerce Committee in Washington, D.C. She now is director of the IU Foundation Principal Gifts Program, where she works with the university’s most philanthropic donors.
Ellen says she really enjoys her time in Tri Kappa, especially the sorority vibe.
“I do so many other community-service things around town, but I love our sisterhood,” Ellen says. “It’s nice to have that social part of Tri Kappa. I love to get together for our meetings, have a glass of wine and do some good work along with it.”
Like most of the Alpha chapter members, Ellen loves serving on the Blingo Committee and participating in the December Dirty Santa gift exchange.
“Blingo has been super fun,” she says. “I also really like the May meeting when we actually get to give our grant recipients their checks. I wish we could just bottle up that meeting and take a drink from it when we’re in a stressful meeting.”
More About Ellen:
Is an avid mountain biker but has a bunch of hardware in her arm following an accident
Has a passion for travel and has been to Bali, Singapore and Dubai
Was born on, became engaged on and was married on a Friday the 13th
Served as a white-water raft guide in Colorado during college
Has watched every episode of “Friends” at least 20 times