Our Mission

To ensure our attendees are Well Organized, Well Prepared, Well Educated, Well Disciplined, Well Versed, Well Invested, Well Connected & Well Informed with exceptional leadership in Sigma Alpha Epsilon.

Our Theme

John Walter Wayland wrote out several mandates for what a True Gentleman should be, and our Fraternity has adopted his writing as our Creed. Although brother Wayland wrote those words many years ago, their meaning adapts and lives on to help guide our lives even to today. Our Fraternity faces numerous challenges, but, by living under brother Wayland’s words, these challenges melt away and form opportunities for leadership and courage.

We recognize that being a fraternity leader in this day and age requires bold action and nimble adaptation. That is why our Planning Committee, at the direction of the Western States Leadership School Board, designed a curriculum that is both thought-provoking on an individual level and community-building across chapters, provinces and the Fraternity. We seek to equip our attendees with the mindset and tools needed so that they are not just an excellent chapter leader until graduation, but also that their chapters are left in a better place when they do eventually move onto the Chapter Alumnus.

We believe proper fraternity leadership requires a balance of each of eight aspects, and we’ll touch upon each of these during our short but powerful time together. Because a strong brother in Sigma Alpha Epsilon is not just one who appears well, he’s one who is…

  • Well Organized, in his chapter and its operations,
  • Well Prepared, in his response to emergencies and crises,
  • Well Educated, in how to be an exception brother and gentleman,
  • Well Disciplined, in his conduct and his influence over his brothers,
  • Well Versed, in our beloved Fraternity’s ritual and symbols,
  • Well Invested, in his financial obligations and how his chapter’s treasury is spent,
  • Well Connected, in his alumni and community relations, and
  • Well Informed, in his initial education in the Fraternity.
Our Background

The School is an initiative from Fraternity volunteers and staff aimed at providing brothers in the Foster and Cockrell regions (and beyond to include all of our Realm) with world-class education and leadership opportunities rivaled by only one program, the John O. Moseley Leadership School.  With a target audience in the Foster and Cockrell regions, we hope to teach valuable skills, techniques and tips to our fellow brothers, both collegiate and alumni.  We execute on this aim by hosting our annual School.

Sigma Alpha Epsilon Western States Leadership School is an incorporated non-profit organized under the laws of the State of Nevada.  This formal structure allows us to build a structure that will carry on in perpetuity while allowing us to operate as an efficient, educational entity for our main constituents: our brothers and the communities they serve.

We want to thank and recognize our Board of Directors and Planning Committee for their tireless service in planning, preparing, executing and evaluating the School.

Board of Directors
  • Chair, Jesus Maldonado (Occidental ’00)
  • Executive Director, Patrick Fredricks (Central Michigan ’10)
  • 1st Assistant Director – Logistics & Secretary, Travis Buchanan (Creighton ’14)
  • Treasurer, Donald Romero (Northern Las Vegas ’15)
  • Ethan Cline (Cal. State – Sacramento)
  • Ga-Lhiel Dillard (Fresno State)
  • Barrett Zehner (Colorado – Colorado Springs ’12)
Planning Committee
  • Dennis Campbell (Sigma Nu)
  • Matt Jones (Cal. Poly – Pomona ’92)
  • Matthew Kadota (Cal. State – Northridge ’13)
  • Karl Kristensen (Crieghton ’17)
  • Stephen Rosenberg (Oakland)
  • Travis Tafoya (Colorado – Colorado Springs ’16)
  • Ace Vindiola (Sonoma State ’13)