Pattie Van Atter has joined Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society’s (PTK) Headquarters staff as the Chapter Development and Outreach Coordinator.
In her new role on PTK’s Student Engagement Team, Van Atter will focus on targeted, data-driven outreach to PTK chapters. She will provide a high level of customer service to support chapters as they engage with PTK programs and work through the Five Star Chapter Plan, and, utilizing her experience with virtual engagement, will seek to expand participation in PTK programs at the chapter level.
“I am honored to be a part of Phi Theta Kappa’s staff and excited to work with the chapters in building opportunities to increase engagement in Society programs, which will not only help them achieve success but will also provide countless benefits to their chapter members as they grow as scholars and leaders,” she said.
Van Atter is a Phi Theta Kappa member from Rowan College of South Jersey’s Gloucester Campus, where she received an associate degree in education. She served as a chapter officer, was named to the All-New Jersey Academic Team, won her college’s President’s Medallion for Service and Leadership, and was named a Distinguished Alumna. She helped charter the award-winning Middle States Regional Alumni Association and served as president in 2003-2004.
Van Atter attended Temple University in Pennsylvania on a Phi Theta Kappa transfer scholarship and completed a bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood, Special Education, and Elementary Education. In her role as the Testing Center Coordinator at Delaware Technical Community College’s Wilmington Campus, she served as advisor to the award-winning Alpha Zeta Kappa Chapter and was named Middle States Regional Coordinator in 2012.
In 2013, Van Atter received PTK’s Board of Directors Alumni Achievement Award in recognition of her support of PTK on the local, regional, national, and international levels. She was appointed to serve on the PTK Board of Directors in 2015 and served as Vice Chair from 2016 until her departure from the Board in 2020.
Van Atter donates monthly to the Phi Theta Kappa Foundation to support the Golden Opportunity Scholarship program.
“My grandmother afforded me my membership into the Society, an act of love that turned out to be the beginning of many golden opportunities and an enhanced Phi Theta Kappa experience,” she said. “The most rewarding experience for me has been witnessing the continued success of our members. Assisting others to change consequences into opportunities has been my way of giving back, and that is what motivates me to continue my journey.”