The Student Body’s Incoming Chief of Staff, Katie Stanley

Newly appointed Chief of Staff, Katie Stanley, talks about her history with SGA, previous background and what she hopes to see and help with during the upcoming year. The following is an overview of the interview that took place Mar 30, 2022.

Morgan Ross | maross2@butler.edu 

With newly elected SGA executives, there is excitement running through everyone looking toward the upcoming school year. Katie Stanley, a current second-year, is one student who has bright ideas for the future of SGA when it comes to the Executive Branch and her soon-to-be position as Chief of Staff. 

Stanley has shown involvement in and out of SGA throughout her time at Butler so far. As a member of Delta Gamma, she finds many opportunities that allow her to be embraced within the community. She also is a part of Leading Women of Tomorrow as well as a member of the the LGBTQIA+ Alliance here on campus. Regarding her engagement in SGA, Stanley joined during the fall of her first-year and has held her position as a justice for the past two years. She has always been interested in continuing her career with SGA, hence why she decided to apply for a higher position.

Stanley’s experience stems from her prior positions, one of which is the Chair of the Election Oversight Commission. This role is responsible for organizing and creating the election while also enforcing the rules. Through this role, Stanley made sure people’s integrity was not compromised while also trying to increase engagement outside of the organization and help people stay and grow within the organization. 

When it comes to teamwork, Stanley elaborated on her experience in organizing and managing a group of diverse individuals when it comes to projects. In high school, Stanley was an active leader in the Indiana Wing of the Civil Air Patrol, regularly working with upwards of 200 individuals. This provided her with hands-on experience working with other people, a skill in which she carries with her now in SGA. Additionally, she served  a student orientation guide (SOG) which helped to develop her leadership skills even further.

For students, Stanley hopes to increase engagement with other students in and out of SGA. She says that “SGA is a resource to help you, not hurt you. We do not actually report to the administration either,” which many students tend to presume; trying to change that stigma is a goal she would like to accomplish.

As of now, the Chief of Staff holds two office hours a week, however, she would like to have more open availability for students and having those office hours relocated to Plum Market to make them more accessible. She believes that this offers students a greater opportunity to come to her for any inquiries and any ideas that can be brought to the table.

As for short and long-term objectives for the future, there are several that she mentioned. Currently, Stanley has significantly helped with the Atherton Union refresh and would hope to take some of that workload off of Cade and Meet’s plate. She stresses how important communication is to her as well, so sending emails and staying on top of priorities is something she continues to look forward to. “The world is run by those who show up, being present, being part of those conversations and being kind” she stated. One of her long-term goals is to schedule a meeting with the Executive Cabinet Advisory Board (Panhel, IFC, DC, CFV, and other organizations on campus) in hopes that it would bring everyone together to discuss future initiatives; doing so would allow her to “...open every door I can to others.”

For questions and inquiries regarding the Executive Branch or Chief of Staff, please visit https://butlersga.org/. If you would like to contact Katie Stanley, select the “Judicial” header and the “About the Judicial Branch” tab on the Butler SGA website.