Regina has been a newspaper columnist for fourteen years, eight of them for Cleveland's Plain Dealer, where she was a finalist in 2008 and 2009 for the Pulitzer Prize in Commentary. She also hosts a call-in talk show once a week on WCPN, the Cleveland NPR affiliate, and speaks regularly to companies and not-for-profit organizations.  Many will remember Regina from her days at the Akron Beacon Journal.   

 When Regina Brett turned 50, she wrote a column on the 50 lessons life had taught her. She reflected on all she had learned through becoming a single parent, looking for love in all the wrong places, working on her relationship with God, battling cancer and making peace with a difficult childhood. It became one of the most popular columns ever published in the newspaper, and since then the 50 lessons have been emailed to hundreds of thousands of people.
Brett’s first book, God Never Blinks, takes the 50 lessons and expounds on them in essays that are deeply personal.

Jim Dodson is currently Writer-in-Residence for The Pilot newspaper and Editor of PineStraw Magazine in Southern Pines, North Carolina. His regular Sunday column was recently awarded top prize by the North Carolina Press Association. Over the course of a 25-year golf writing career, his writing has won more than a dozen awards from the Golf Writers of America and other industry organizations. He recently served as Distinguished Charles Rubin Writer-in-Residence at Hollins University in Virginia. For two decades he was a Contributing Editor and regular columnist for Golf Magazine, and Golf and Travel Correspondent for Departures Magazine of American Express.

His work has appeared in over 50 magazines and newspapers worldwide. His bestselling books include Final Rounds, The Dewsweepers, Beautiful Madness, The Road to Somewhere, Faithful Travelers, A Golfer’s Life (with Arnold Palmer), and Ben Hogan – An American Life, which won the USGA International Book Award in 2005. In 2008, he was a featured commentator in the award-winning HBO documentary “Back Nine at Cherry Hills.”  In his new memoir, James Dodson, returns to the world of golf and to the part of that world in which he developed his passion for the game, this time writing about his desire to pass along his love of golf to his teenage son.

The Sisters of St. Dominic of Akron, Ohio were established in 1923.  Since that time 115 Sisters have been "Bearers of the Word" in Akron, Ohio.  In 2004, Mary Alice Herman suggested the sisters publish a book chronicling their history and biographies.  As a congregation they worked together to make this book a reality with Elms graduate, Carli Kistler- Miller '87.  Sr. Mary Ann Wiesemann-Mills and Sr. Diana Culbertson played key roles in making this dream a reality.

Sr. Mary Ann has special training as a retreat/spiritual director, in addition to her Doctorate of Ministry in Preaching.  Sr. Mary Ann served as a teacher for 20 years, an associate paster for 7 years, and various roles for the Akron Dominicans and numerous professional organizations.  She is currently the promoter of preaching for the Dominican Sisters of Peace.  Additionally, Sr. Mary Ann serves as Adjunct Professor of Homiletics at St. Mary Seminary and Graduate School of Theology in Cleveland, OH.

Sr. Diana Culbertson holds a Doctorate in Comparative Literature from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Master of Arts in Theology from Aquinas Insititute of Theology.  Sr. Diana served as an English professor for the University of North Carolina and Kent State University.  In her time at Kent State, Sr. Diana held a number of administrative roles and roles of ministry on campus.  She holds many publications and retired from Kent State as professor emerita.  Sr. Diana has been instrumental in preparing numerous crucial documents for the congregation, inlcuding the definitive Constitution.  Sr. Diana has served on the Our Lady of the Elms School Board as well as the recent Cluster Coordinating Committee for the Sisters.   

Mary Engelbreit grew up studying the illustrations in the vintage storybooks of her mother's own childhood, and she developed a unique style that harkens back to those simpler times. Mary's distinctive images have made her a celebrity to millions, who eagerly snap up gift items, calendars, books, fabrics, and more.  She now offers nearly 6,500 products in all, and has more than $1 billion in lifetime retail sales. Mary was also editor-in-chief of the award-winning creative lifestyle magazine, Mary Engelbreit’s Home Companion. 

Today, thousands of retailers sell Mary Engelbreit® products to her countless fans, and Mary Engelbreit Studios continues to add new licensees and product categories.  Her New York Times bestselling The Night Before Christmas is already part of the holiday tradition for families across the country and Mary Engelbreit's Mother Goose is a beloved addition to a child's first bookshelf and a perfect companion to Mary Engelbreit's Nursery Tales.

Marybeth Bond is the nation’s preeminent expert on women travel. She is the award-winning author-editor of 11 books, including the best sellers 50 Best Girlfriend Getaways in North America, A Woman’s World and Gutsy Women.

Marybeth has hiked, cycled, climbed, dived and kayaked her way through more than seventy countries around the world, from the depths of the Flores Sea to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro. Bond has traveled – along, with her gal pals, daughters, sisters and mother and husband – researching travel books, articles and for adventure. She reminds us that gal-pal time and getaways are good for women’s health.

As a nationally recognized travel expert and media personality, Marybeth has appeared on several national news program and radio shows.  Currently Marybeth and her daughters are travelling across the country on their bikes to raise money for Osteoporosis Awareness.  You can follow Marybeth this summer at http://bondgirlsbikeamerica.com/blog.