Q&A with Past Grand Archon Chris Senseney

In celebration of Women's History Month, Grand Archon Tess Stovall sits down with a series of Phi Sigma Sigma sisters to share their stories, advice and how our sisterhood made a lasting impact in their lives. Read more stories, here.

Chris Senseney served as Grand Archon from 1996-1998. She is a founder of the Gamma Delta Chapter at Rutgers University - Camden and received her law degree from Rutgers Law School. In 2022, Chris and her late husband, Charlie, established the Charlie and Chris Senseney Scholarship through the Phi Sigma Sigma Foundation, awarded to sisters aiming toward a career in public service including law, government service or criminal justice.

Chris is a retired FBI agent who worked on the foreign counterintelligence team. She was an investigator on several of our country’s most significant cases, including the first World Trade Center bombing in 1993 and the 1996 TWA Flight 800 crash.

Tess Stovall: What do you believe is the biggest asset of Phi Sigma Sigma membership? And how has it played a role in your life?  

Chris Senseney: For me, the biggest asset of my membership has been a lifetime network of sister-friends. I still communicate with sisters I met 50 years ago in my collegiate days, and I make NEW lifelong friends all the time, like at Convention 2025.

Our alumnae network can be used for so many different things, but especially for supporting and mentoring each other, not only for sorority matters, but in our personal lives and careers.  

TS: Speaking of our alumna network, tell me about a Phi Sigma Sigma sister who had a significant influence in your life.

CS: Past Grand Archon Jeanine Jacobs Goldberg installed my chapter in 1971 and from then on, she became a role model for me in many ways. First, her introductions always included the fact that she was an attorney licensed to practice before the Supreme Court, which inspired me to believe that such a lofty goal might even be possible for someone like me.

Jeanine began mentoring me as a volunteer after graduation, and she was generous with her praise and support. I still have a bracelet she gave me to encourage me to go further, not only in sorority, but in life. My own mantra included the thought that “if Jeanine could do that, then maybe I can, too.”

Her example truly did help put me on a path for my own life, for not only did I eventually become an attorney licensed to practice before the Supreme Court, but I followed in her footsteps to become a Grand Archon of Phi Sigma Sigma.

TS: I love that Jeanine was able to serve as a mentor and role model both professional and within Phi Sigma Sigma! What an important relationship.

Pivoting to your volunteer experience - you’ve remained involved with the organization over the years. Why do you believe it is important to stay connected to our sisterhood and what benefits do we offer after graduation?

CS: First and foremost, I stay connected to Phi Sigma Sigma because my membership has helped me in so many ways, and I truly want to “pay it forward” so that others can have the same experiences that I have had.

Our sisterhood has always provided an invaluable support system to me. Whenever I have moved for work, I have found sisters (and their families) in my new locations. They have provided information on schools, neighborhoods, medical resources and job opportunities.

Even virtually, sisters can take advantage of this support system. They can contact our alumnae ambassadors who have volunteered to be our points of contact throughout the country. They can make inquiries via our alumnae “Once, Always” page on Facebook. And now they can participate in the expanded networking opportunities on our sisters' only LinkedIn group.

In places where there are no collegiate chapters, alumnae can often participate by representing us on Alumnae Panhellenics, which expands support and networking opportunities beyond our own walls into the larger Greek community.

And alumnae are eligible for many of our Foundation’s scholarships and grants, assisting them in furthering their education and expanding their knowledge base. As a former grant recipient, I continue to donate to the Foundation to help support our sisters in their academic endeavors.