Many of you probably have no idea who I am! So, please let me provide a little bit of background… I graduated from the Elms in 1996 and went on to earn a Bachelor of Arts in Interdisciplinary Anthropology at the University of Akron with specialties in Archaeology and Bio-Anthropology. For the past 20 years I have put those skills to use as a field supervisor and American excavation team member with the Walhain-Saint-Paul project in Belgium- a castle site that is being excavated by teams operating through Eastern Illinois University in the US and l’Université Catholique de Louvain-la-Neuve in Belgium. Currently, I work as an administrator at a large electrical company as well as manage a small consulting/lobbying firm with my husband, Andrew. Andrew and I have been married for ten years, and we live in Bedford with our dog, Mozzarella.

As you know, the Elms has a BIG birthday coming up!  We will be 100 years young in October. To celebrate, the Elms will be hosting a number of events throughout the year to celebrate. I encourage you to attend them all or at least a few. The Alumnae Board is planning to do as much as we can to support the school as they plan this monumental celebration. To do that, we need your help! We know that our sisterhood is spread across the country and some are even around the globe. Please consider joining us on the board or on one of our committees. As of our most recent meeting, we are permanently adopting a hybrid model for future meetings so that as many of you may join as you see fit. There is plenty to do even if you no longer live near the school. So, please, consider joining us in some capacity as we prepare to enter our next hundred years.

If you have any questions, ideas or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact me at dana.b2009@gmail.com.

Sincerely,

Dana Best-Mizsak, ‘96

President, Our Lady of the Elms Alumnae Board