Dr. Portia E. Ellis, a Zeta legacy and ZOL Certified Centennial Life Member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated, understands the importance of excellence in all areas.  Dr. Ellis has served Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated on the local, state, regional and national levels. 

On July 1, 2020, International Centennial President Valerie Hollingsworth Baker appointed Portia E. Ellis to lead the “Mighty” Mississippi into the second half of the Sorority’s Centennial Year. Madam State Director Ellis, a former chapter president, State and Regional Undergraduate Coordinator, Assistant State Secretary, and Executive Affairs Coordinator understands the need for servant leadership and Zeta excellence. Along with her duties as State Director, Dr. Ellis currently serves as the National Vendor Director for Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated.

In such a short time, State Director Ellis and her team have worked hard to keep the State of Mississippi progressive. She began her term in office during the historic COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, State Director Ellis hit the ground running. Within her first few months of being appointed as State Director, she successfully planned the first ever virtual State Leadership Conference, a virtual Statewide joint Founders’ Day Celebration with the brothers of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Incorporated, and hosted several virtual certifications and statewide virtual events to keep the membership engaged. This administration also introduced a special reduced state conference registration fee and budgeted line item for the Zeta Doves in the State of Mississippi who have been members of the organization for more than fifty years. Most recently, Dr. Ellis envisioned relaunching the state website after over ten years.

Portia embodies the principle of Scholarship. She is a Starkville, MS native, and a proud graduate of Rust College in Holly Springs, MS where she became a member of the Sisterhood through the Iota Gamma Chapter, graduating at the very top of her class at the age of 19. After graduating from Rust College, she later received two Master’s degrees in the concentrations of medical sciences and public health from The University of Toledo College of Medicine and Bowling Green State University, and a Doctor of Philosophy degree from Southern University and A&M College in Baton Rouge, LA. 

In addition to working hard for Zeta, Dr. Ellis has been blessed with a career in Public Health with the government.