Alpha Kappa Alpha

Melody M. McDowell is a proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority. She is past editor of the sorority's magazine, The Ivy Leaf. Alpha Kappa Alpha Shield

On July 15, 2006, she was appointed Chairman of the Communications Committee for the Centennial National Administration headed by Supreme Basileus Barbara McKinzie. In this role, she heads a committee charged with devising strategies for branding the Sorority's image and for generating stories about Alpha Kappa Alpha in the media. The theme of the Communications Committee parallels the ESP emblem conceived by Soror Barbara by using the ESP to impact this arena: Every Source Penetrated....Every Strategy Pursued

Melody is also Chief Information Officer of Alpha Kappa Alpha. In this capacity, she works with the Supreme Basileus to frame the AKA message and keep its many accomplishments in the media eye. She also heads a team of Information Officers charged with interfacing with the various chapters to help them explore ways of getting the AKA message out as part of the bigger branding strategy. The CIO/IO schematic also identifies stories that can be archived for pitching to the media as part of the Centennial Celebration.

During the Centennial Celebration held in Washington, D.C., Melody led a team that crafted an aggressive media strategy that resulted AKA getting coverage in a wide spectrum of outlets including: (but not limited to): The Washington Post, CBS Early Show, Tom Joyner Morning Show, the New York Times, Essence, Black Enterprise, Ebony, Jet, ABC, NBC, CBS affiliates, CNN, trade publications, hundreds of African-American media outlets, blogs, Internet links and so many more. We secured a feature column in USA Today that ran in thousands of newspapers. The International president was interviewed by Michel Martin for the nationally-syndicated show, “Tell Me More,” and members were interviewed on “Al Sharpton's Show,” and many more. On July 12, 2008, Melody was interviewed by Lonnie Quinn on CBS where she promoted AKA's Centennial Convention and the Sorority's 100-year commitment to sisterhood and service. This effort yielded over $1 million in free coverage for Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority.

In addition, Melody oversaw the publication of a Media Guide. Using the ESP call letters, the Guide's title was “How to Enhance your Success with the Press.” Melody also conducted several media workshops for the Sorority on public relations including at the Leadership Conference in Anchorage, Alaska. Melody has succeeded in elevating AKA's media presence and in getting its message of sisterhood and service out to the media world.