Chapter 20: Marcella L. Kysilka (1986-1988): Leadership, Professionalism, and Society Management

During her years of leadership in Kappa Delta Pi, Dr. Marcella L. Kysilka faced numerous challenges and helped change its focus from that of a largely undergraduate honor society in Education to one of a full-fledged professional association serving both educators in their pre-service and early careers as well as those in their mid- and later-careers. She was extremely well suited by temperament, professional experience, and personal and social skills to meet these challenges and to provide strong leadership in successfully reshaping the organization in new directions for the long term.

Kysilka was born on June 19, 1941, and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, on the east side of the city, and attended Cleveland Public Schools, K-12. She participated in a gifted education program from early elementary school through graduation from John Adams High School in 1959. She and all her relatives worked in a dairy owned and operated by her parents, Catherine and Edward Kysilka. Her father and brother were marvelous salespeople and could “sell ice to an Eskimo,” she claimed (Kysilka, pers. comm.). Her experience balancing the dairy’s financial books laid the foundation for her later interest in mathematics and her exceptional grasp of financial matters which she was able to put to use in several professional associations, including Kappa Delta Pi, its budget committee, and its Educational Foundation Board.