Alpha Delta Pi

NPC Women appoints members to Standing Committees every biennium, and Alpha Delta Pi representation within NPC is strong! We are proud to share the following sisters serving on NPC standing committees for NPC's 2026-2028 biennium, effective July 1.

By serving in NPC volunteer roles, these sisters help shape national conversations, foster collaboration among member organizations, and ensure Alpha Delta Pi's voice and values are represented with excellence. We are grateful for these sisters who generously share their time and talents to represent our Sorority, strengthen the Panhellenic experience, and help shape the future of our fraternity community!

Help create lists of some of your favorite ADPi things or experiences by responding to ADPi Asks questions. Each question will be posted here bi-weekly, in celebration of our 175th Anniversary!

This weeks question: What do you like most about being an alumna member? Put your answer in the comments below!

Twice a month, throughout our 175th Anniversary Year, we will be honoring sisters throughout history for their accomplishments and impact. Today we highlight Jessie Gray, Beta Zeta–Toronto, 1929

Jessie was born in Augusta, Georgia in 1910 and moved with her family to Toronto, Ontario when she was two years old. She lived and worked the rest of her life in Canada. While an undergraduate at the University of Toronto, she joined Beta Zeta chapter and was initiated in 1929. She served as president of the medical women’s organization for undergraduates before obtaining a Bachelor of Science in 1931 and a Doctor of Medicine in 1934. She received the gold medal for the highest academic standing of her graduating class; she was the first woman to receive this medal.

Dr Gray continued her firsts! After completing two internships at the Toronto General Hospital, she returned to the University of Toronto in 1936, as the first woman accepted to its prestigious Gallie Course in surgery. In 1939, she was the first Canadian woman to graduate with a Master of Surgery. Dr Gray became the first female resident surgeon at Toronto General Hospital in 1940, Associate Surgeon-in-Chief at the Women's College Hospital in 1941, and then Chief of Surgery in 1946. While working at Women’s College Hospital, she was considered one of the four top cancer surgeons in North America and aided in the creation of the first cancer detection clinic in Canada.

Other accomplishments include being the first woman elected to the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada in1942, the first female member of the Central Surgical Society of North America in 1948, and the first woman appointed to the Science Council of Canada in 1966.

Dr Gray died at the age of 68 in 1978 after a long illness, and her obituary in the Canadian Medical Association Journal described her as "dynamic, cheerful, and forthright with a great sense of realism and self-discipline", After her death, the Jessie Gray Colorectal Unit for early detection of colorectal cancer, was established at her longtime workplace, Women’s College Hospital.

Known as the Canadian "First Lady of Surgery", Dr Gray is remembered as a trailblazer for women surgeons. For International Women's Day in 2017, the Canadian Medical Association recognized Jessie as one of the women who had had an enormous effect on the medical profession.