Thank you, Chelsea! Celebrating 10 Years with Osher!

Thank you, Chelsea. Thank you so very much. For your friendship, good humor, organizational and management skills and your creativity. And for a decade of showing up and getting the job done. Chelsea Prestia, Osher’s Registrar Assistant, is celebrating her 10-year anniversary with us. 

She initially started as the Office Assistant in 2013. One of the tasks she was specifically hired for was to lead production of the Osher course catalog. Do you have any idea what it takes to “produce” a catalog? Every session, Osher receives from 120 and 150 course proposals. manages all course proposals from submission to course announcement in the catalog, and If you’ve ever lead a class, you know how detailed and precise the proposals are. Chelsea reads and evaluates every one. 

She has constructed 30 catalogs since the summer of 2014. (You can see many of the cover pages, enlarged and framed, in the Osher lounge and hall.) Over half the photographs featured on all the covers were taken by Chelsea, and no, they are not mere snapshots. Our gal, a graduate of Point Park University, majored in photo journalism.

She is the glue of both the Curriculum Committee and the Study Leader Support Group, too.  She produces all of the reports for the committees,  keeps track of which study leaders are assigned to which curriculum committee members; She’s the push behind nine of the Annual Reports. Her organizational skills are a plus for the staff.

Her duties have since expanded since 2013, and she is now the Registrar Assistant. Osher President Jan Hawkins said, "Chelsea is creative, committed to our organization and an absolute joy to work with.  She is an integral member of our Study Leader Support Group.  We are extremely fortunate to have her on our team.”

And yet, she has spare time. She completes the New Yorker crossword puzzle and online puzzles, is an avid book reader and a true crime fanatic. She shares her life with her husband, Matt Todd. A couple of years ago, her dog Ruby took on the position of office shredder and has since become a vital member of the Osher staff.

How does she do it? Maybe her secret sauce is that she is originally from Ellwood City; her mother and 101-year-old grandfather continue to live and thrive there.

Fellow staff member Olivia McCann describes her office-mate as supportive and thoughtful. “During my time working with Chelsea, she has always been the helping hand I needed. When I need to bounce ideas off someone, I know I can turn to her for inspiration. She’s also great when I’m in a slump, and I just need some encouragement or a laugh. I appreciate her as a mentor, co-worker, and friend.”

Executive director Lyn Decker has high praise for her colleague. “Chelsea is the one who keeps us all on track with her many calendars and charts,” she says. “She is wicked funny, extremely smart, and a great all around person. I feel so lucky to have had Chelsea by my side over these last 10 years. I firmly believe that the Osher at CMU organization would not be as strong as it is without her.  I'm forever grateful she found our job opening and joined our team."

Thank you, Chelsea.