OPBSI Sister is the First Latino Greek to Receive the Sue Kraft Fussell Distinguished Service Award from the AFA

NEW YORK, New York… January 7, 2009. Monica Miranda Smalls, sister of Omega Phi Beta Sorority Incorporated (OPBSI) and a member of the Board of Trustees, has been awarded the Sue Kraft Fussell Distinguished Service Award by The Association of Fraternity Advisors (AFA). The Awards & Recognition Committee recognized five of the 1,800 members of AFA with the Sue Kraft Fussell Distinguished Service Awards on December 6, 2008 at their meeting in Denver, Colorado. Monica Miranda Smalls is the first Latino fraternity/sorority member ever to receive such a prestigious award.

Monica has been very active in serving the overall Greek community, but more specifically the Black and Latino Greek community for many years, making a national impact. This year alone she received the Professional of the Year Award from the National Association of Latino Fraternal Organizations (NALFO) and was presented with the 2008 Outstanding Greek Advisor Award by sorority Phi Sigma Sigma's national organization.

Her most recent award, The Sue Kraft Fussel Distinguished Service Award, was created in 1985 and re-named for AFA's second Executive Director, Sue Kraft Fussell, in 2006. The purpose of the award is to recognize individuals who have exhibited high professional standards and achievements in fraternity/sorority advising and outstanding achievements in one or more of the following areas: service to AFA; programming and/or service which reaches beyond the recipient's campus; development and research activities; and/or service to the college and fraternity/sorority communities. Monica Miranda is an invaluable member and positive contributor to the Greek community nationwide.

Omega Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated, a NALFO organization member, is a Latina-oriented sorority founded on March 15, 1989, at the University at Albany, State University of New York. Seventeen women of various ethnic and cultural backgrounds came together to defy the injustices suffered by women, particularly women of color, in the academic, professional and political arenas. The purpose of OPBSI is to serve and educate people of diverse backgrounds through sisterhood, leadership, and guidance. As positive role models, we promote unity of all cultures, focus on the empowerment of our gender and raise the standards of excellence in our academic, social, and personal endeavors. For further information visit: www.OmegaPhiBeta.org .

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