Tess Vismale, C'91

Tess Vismale, C'91

1. Alumna Trustee Interest Statement

Spelman claimed me before I was born, through the blood and legacy of my mother, Mary Lowe Jones Vismale, C'47. She was president of the Chicago chapter of the National Alumnae Association of Spelman College (NAASC) in the early 1970s and raised me within this community long before I ever enrolled. My sister, Terri Vismale-Morris, C'80, pledged Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., Eta Kappa chapter. My cousins Gloria Johnson Carlton, C'63, and Judith Palmer, C'79, are Spelman women as well.

I am not applying for a seat at the table. I am answering a call.

This institution has lived in me across five distinct chapters: as the daughter and young sister of alumnae; as a student; as a work-study staffer in Dr. Johnnetta B. Cole's office; as Alumnae Programs Manager; and as Founder and Event Rescuer of iSocialExecution, Inc. (iSocialX), contracted to serve the College. I have shaped how Spelman functions from every position I have held. The trusteeship is the next room. It is where the decisions that shape what all those other roles make possible are actually made.

What I am most focused on, and what I believe deserves more attention in governance conversations, is operations. The actual functioning and sustainability of how Spelman works. Through my membership in the Association of Collegiate Conference and Event Directors International (ACCED-i) during my tenure managing the Cleveland L. Dennard Conference Center at Atlanta Technical College, I studied how peer institutions generate meaningful revenue from their event spaces. I am bringing that work into the room where it can take root.

2. Engagement with Spelman as Advocate, Donor and Volunteer

My mother told me throughout my life that when a Spelman woman is called to serve, she answers. My engagement with Spelman is the living proof of that..

While working in Dr. Johnnetta B. Cole's office as a work-study student, I learned what it meant to give to the institution that was giving to me. I am a Charter Member of the Dream the Boldest Dreams endowed scholarship in honor of Dr. Cole, having contributed at the $5,000 level.

As Alumnae Programs Manager from 2005 to 2011, I produced Reunion, Blue Note Theater, Founders Day, Homecoming, and the March Through the Alumnae Arch. I collaborated with Taronda Spencer, C'80, as College Archivist, to document the white dress tradition in writing for the first time in Spelman's history. I designed the logistical arc of the March Through the Alumnae Arch, still in use today. I brought back the Granddaughters' tradition of serving as the Alumnae Guards and served as advisor to the Granddaughters Club, founded in 1910. In 1999, I was part of the award-winning installation of Dr. Audrey Forbes Manley, C'55, as the first alumna president, recognized by CASE with its first-ever award given to an HBCU for Communications and Special Events programs.

Since 2011, iSocialX has continued serving Spelman through contracted work, including the Virtual Campaign Launch, event technology audit, hybrid event production education, and the Groundbreaking for the Center for Innovation and the Arts.

I have given to Spelman across every role available to me, as a student, staff, alumna, and partner. That has not changed, and it will not. 

3. Personal and Professional Experience

Everything I bring to this role is rooted in three lanes: institutional memory and legacy access, operational intelligence, and external leverage.

Growing up as the daughter of a Spelman woman, watching my mother and her Spelman sisters organize, fundraise, and hold each other accountable to something larger than themselves, gave me a formation no classroom could replicate. My BA in Psychology and Organizational Management from Spelman deepened that foundation, teaching me to read a room, understand group dynamics, and lead across competing interests. I understand how this institution actually functions, because I have operated inside it for nearly forty years.

I am the Founder and Event Rescuer of iSocialExecution, Inc. (iSocialX). I served on the President's Leadership Team at Atlanta Technical College while managing a 30,000 square foot conference center. Through my membership in ACCED-i, I studied how peer institutions generate revenue from their event infrastructure. When I worked in institutional advancement at Spelman, I deepened my understanding of what sustained giving actually builds. I hold the Certified Meeting Professional Fellow (CMP Fellow) designation and am co-author of Domain K: Technology Integration for the CMP exam, administered by the Events Industry Council.

I co-founded Event Tech Atlas, an independent decision-support platform serving more than 5,000 industry professionals. I serve on the Board of Directors of the National Coalition of Black Meeting Professionals and mentor emerging professionals through MPI, PCMA, and NCBMP. I have delivered more than 100 presentations at conferences internationally, consistently bringing Spelman's story into rooms where it has not yet been heard. 

4. Initiatives to Promote Spelman to the Outside Community

Promoting Spelman has been my job in every volunteer role I have held, and I have taken that seriously at every level.

As a member, regional delegate, and then chapter president of the Boston chapter of the National Alumnae Association of Spelman College (NAASC), promoting Spelman to the outside community was not incidental to the work. It was the work. At each level of leadership, I carried that mission further.

In 2008, I sourced and landed Spelman's relationship with iModules, the College's first online alumnae community platform, at a time when online communities were not standard practice at peer institutions. I was also the first to bring a Google partnership to Spelman through the Office of Alumnae Affairs. Both relationships extended Spelman's reach well beyond its immediate community and remained in use for years.

As a nationally recognized event technology professional, I speak about Spelman's mission and legacy to corporate leaders, technology executives, and institutional partners at conferences including IMEX, PCMA Convening Leaders, and Connect Meetings. I leverage my platforms as co-founder of Event Tech Atlas, co-host of the Event Tech Pull Up Podcast, and Tech Whisperer for DAHLIA+ Agency to bring Spelman's story into rooms where it has not yet been heard.

I am working to establish a PCMA student chapter at Spelman, with Spelman leading the Atlanta University Center chapter, connecting students to a professional pipeline that does not currently reach this campus. I also actively recruit prospective students, helping young women understand the application process and prepare their strongest applications.

Spelman's story belongs in every room. I make sure it arrives.