National President Matthew W. Clifford is the Associate Dean of Students and Director of Campus Life Projects at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C. In his role at Wake Forest, Matthew handles student conduct, crisis management, and community response. Additionally, Matthew leads assessment efforts for the Division of Campus Life at Wake Forest.

Previously, Matthew served as director of residence life at Wake Forest and director of residential life at Jacksonville University in Fla. He has also worked in residence life at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Matthew’s involvement in O∆K started at Davidson College, where he was inducted as a student member. He has previously served on the Society Board of Directors as Member-at-large. Additionally, he has served as a faculty officer for circles at Jacksonville University and Wake Forest University.

In addition to his involvement in O∆K, Matthew is very involved with the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA), where he is immediate past co-chair of the Student Leadership Programs Knowledge Community. Additionally, he currently serves as the vice president for marketing and communication for the Southern Association of College Student Affairs. Having presented at numerous national and regional conferences, Matthew has served on the editorial boards of the Journal of College and University Student Housing and the College Student Affairs Journal.

Outside of O∆K, Matthew is very involved in his community. In 2015, he was selected to receive a Winston<40 Leadership Award, recognizing 20 leaders under 40 years old in the Winston-Salem community. He is President of Friends of Sherwood Forest, a nonprofit foundation that provides support for neighborhood schools.

He earned his Bachelor of Arts in English from Davidson College, a Master of Education in higher education and student affairs from the University of South Carolina, and his Doctor of Education in higher education from the University of North Florida.

Andrew Brown is a 2012 initiate of the Grand Valley State University Circle of Omicron Delta Kappa. During his time there, he was able to serve as circle president for two years after taking a fifth-year before graduating. Andrew previously served ODK as a member of the first Student Advisory Board, the Membership Committee, and the Society Board of Directors as a student member-at-large.  He is currently the National Student Vice President and Chair of the Student Advisory Board.

Andrew earned his Bachelor of Science degree from Grand Valley State University in 2014 with a double major in psychology and philosophy. As an undergraduate, he worked as a peer educator, leading outreach programs and conducting surveys to raise awareness of mental health issues on campus and promote the University Counseling Center. He also worked as a lead writing consultant in the Writing Center, collaborating with students to improve their skills as writers, while also mentoring other consultants and leading professional development workshops. He also completed a one-year internship as a leadership and service intern, where he worked with Office of Student Life staff to plan, provide, and improve leadership and community service programs. Additionally, Andrew presented more than 15 conference sessions, professional development workshops, and outreach programs at local, state, regional, and national conferences.

Currently, Andrew is a full-time graduate student in the counseling psychology doctoral program at Purdue University. As a recipient of the Frederick N. Andrews Fellowship, he works as a teaching and research assistant, teaching two different classes and collaborating on several research projects related to grief and loss. His personal research focuses on understanding the college student experience of romantic breakup, and how guided writing interventions can be used to reduce the risk of negative outcomes like increased risk of depression or decreased academic performance. Additionally, Andrew is a member of the Counseling and Development Graduate Student Organization, is the vice president of the Graduate Organization for Educational Studies, and is the Purdue representative on the Student Committee of the Indiana Psychological Association. In the spring of 2016, he worked with Foundation Board of Trustees member Terry Kungel to re-charter the Century Circle at Purdue. He serves the Century Circle in an advisory role, giving guidance to the students of the Executive Board as well as the faculty advisor and circle coordinator. Before graduating from his program, Andrew hopes to choose between a potential career in academia as a professor, working as a licensed counselor, or becoming involved in using psychological research to influence and lobby public policy.

Darwin C. Jones is a manager in EY’s Transaction Advisory Service Tax practice, based in N.Y. He has extensive experience in tax compliance and deal execution as well as the planning and structuring of transactions for public and privately held clients. Prior to joining EY, Darwin worked with KPMG International and Advisory Services to provide strategic transaction consulting to clients at various stages of the business life cycle; specifically, assisting clients with driving revenue, increasing market efficiency from concept through realization and quantification of value to be created and execution services to maximize realized value. Darwin is a certified public accountant licensed in New York State.

In January 2013, Darwin was appointed to the Omicron Delta Kappa Society Board of Directors as national treasurer and to the Omicron Delta Kappa Foundation Board of Trustees. In his role as national treasurer, Darwin is responsible for the oversight of Omicron Delta Kappa Society’s financial management strategy and the continual development of the organization’s strategic goals. In addition to strategic planning, his responsibilities include: administration of all fiscal matters within the organization, facilitating the annual budget process with the Finance Committee and national headquarters personnel and to ensure the compliance of audit, tax and various regulatory policies and procedures.

Since 2010, Darwin has served as co-chair of the New York State Society of CPA's (NYSSCPA) COAP Program Advisory Board. COAP is a five-day summer program for high school juniors and is designed to recruit young minorities into the CPA profession. COAP provides an invaluable preview of college life, and the program encourages high school students to think beyond college and learn about a career in the business world.

Additionally, Darwin serves as a distinguished member of the Young Leadership Circle of the New York State Society of CPAs, member of KPMG’s African-American Network Advisory Board, and member of the American Institute of CPAs Student Recruitment Committee and Minority Scholarship Task Force.

A 2004 initiate of the University at Albany Circle, Darwin served as the 2005 – 2006 circle president. Darwin earned his Bachelor of Science in accounting from the University at Albany and a Master of Science with distinction in Taxation and Finance from Long Island University – Brooklyn.  His current term on the O∆K Foundation Board of Trustees expires in 2016.

Throughout her education and career, Omicron Delta Kappa has remained an important part of Cie Cochran’s life. Over the past 18 years, her involvement has ranged from serving as a circle president, a term as the East Caucus student representative for the Society Board of Directors, a member of the Council of Regional Directors for Region 1 and vice chair of that group for one term. She has also served as a faculty secretary and a member-at-large on the Board of Directors. Cie currently serves as the chair of the National Advisory Council and member of the Society Board of Directors. She also re-chartered the University of Miami’s O∆K alumni circle in her service. Cie believes strongly in the mission of O∆K and has always valued her involvement with the organization. She is a 2004 recipient of Omicron Delta Kappa’s Eldridge W. Roark, Jr. Meritorious Service Award.

Cie currently owns SMT Grant and Non-profit Services and serves as an independent grant writer and non-profit liaison for organizations in the region.

Cie earned both her undergraduate and master’s degrees from the University of Miami where she also started her career in higher education. Early in her career, Cie worked in the Department of Student Activities and Leadership Programs. She continued her work with students and leadership development at Northwestern University in Evanston where she worked in the Center for Student Involvement. Cie then began a career in alumni relations and served as the director of alumni engagement for the University of Miami Alumni Association where she was responsible for the management of alumni weekend, reunions and affinity engagement initiatives. Following her career at Miami, Cie left higher education to work as the director of development for a women’s shelter.

In addition to attending as many Miami Hurricane football games as possible, Cie enjoys reading, spending time with her family, and volunteering in the community. Cie currently serves on the boards for several local organizations focused on youth in the arts and the human services sector. Cie is also a proud Cub Scout Den Leader and Girl Scout Troop Leader.

Hameidah Alsafwani was initiated into the University of Nebraska – Omaha (UNO) Circle in November 2017. She has been active in circle activities since and attended the 2018 Biennial National Convention and Leadership Conference in Nashville, Tennessee. She is currently serving as one of the two student-at-large members of the Society Board of Directors and as a member of the National Advisory Council.

Hameidah graduated in May 2017 with a bachelor’s degree in emergency management with concentrations in the private sector and criminal justice. She is presently enrolled in a Master of Public Administration program while working as a graduate assistant in UNO’s Office of University Communications. She is also working part-time as a hotline associate in the Office of Mayor for Omaha.

During the 2017-18 academic year, Hameidah served as the vice president of the UNO student body. She had the pleasure of working with university administrators and faculty members toward promoting school spirit and improving the overall campus experience for all UNO students and staff. She served on several committees that were focused on developing a strategy for growth and a plan of excellence. As a student, Hameidah still participates in outreach events within the university community and participates in various volunteer opportunities.

Previously, Hameidah interned with the Douglas County Emergency Management Agency where she worked on several emergency prevention projects. She still volunteers to help with emergency exercises and plans for the agency. Also, she continues to serve as a volunteer for the community TEDx program including assisting with the speaker selection, event promotion, and program coordination.

Michael (Mike) James is a 1995 charter member of the Harding University Circle of Omicron Delta Kappa. He directed and organized this new circle at the urging of Dr. James F. Carr, whose strong O∆K roots were formed at Florida State University. He has served as circle coordinator since that date, except for five years while serving the Harding in Greece. Mike has also served O∆K as national regional director and as a member of the National Advisory Council. He received the Eldridge W. Roark Meritorious Service Award in 2008. He was appointed to the Society Board of Directors in 2018.

Mike is currently serving Harding University as dean of the Honors College, directing the curriculum, faculty, and student activities. More than 1100 honors students comprise this group from among the 6,000-member student body. He actively participates in the National Collegiate Honors Council (NCHC) and the six-state regional Great Plains Honors Council (GPHC), where he currently serves as president-elect. He also directs the Fellowship Advising Office, promoting the selection of national prestigious fellowships and scholarships, and is a member of the National Association of Fellowship Advisors (NAFA). In the summer, Mike directs the highly-successful "Honors Symposium" of four two-week sessions for rising high school seniors.

Academically, he received a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics from Harding, a Master of Science in Mass Communication from Arkansas State University, and a Ph.D. in communication from Florida State University. He has served as faculty member, department chair, program director, and dean during his tenure. He currently holds the rank of distinguished professor of communication, granted to him after receiving the Distinguished Teaching Award on three occasions. Prior to his current role as dean, Mike served as the director of the Harding University, Greece (HUG) program. With his wife, Beth, he directed all aspects of this semester-abroad program with travels (three per year) to Egypt, Turkey, Jordan, Israel, and other countries in Europe from a home base in Porto Rafti, Greece. Mike is a former officer in the Army Corps of Engineers with service in Germany, England, and the U.S.

Mike is the organizer for newly formed TEDxHardingU, having received their first TED license in 2017. The successful inaugural event contained seven life-oriented presentations, and forms the basis for the 2018 event slated for November 13. In preparation and training for the event, Mike was invited to attend "TEDGlobal 2017" in Kilamanjaro, Tanzania.

Mike is a member of the Searcy Rotary club, serving as secretary and president-elect. He is a member of the President's Development Council and Provost Council at Harding. He mentors the student-led "Honors Council" and serves a men's club, Chi Sigma Alpha (XEA) as sponsor and mentor. Mike is a leader in his church, loves to travel, and is an avid photographer, having photographed more than 2,500 weddings and thousands of portraits from his private photography business. He is an FAA-licensed drone pilot and prepares many videos for publication Though not playing much currently, he loves golf. He and his wife, Beth, have four married children that supply them with eight lovely grandchildren to help nurture.