Food sustainability expert Dara Olmsted Silverstein ’00 will be chief marshal of alumni at this spring’s Harvard Alumni Day celebration, the Harvard Alumni Association (HAA) has announced.
Silverstein previously worked at the Harvard Office for Sustainability for eight years, focusing on topics including renewable energy and behavior change. She also led Harvard Dining Services’ Food Literacy Project — which fosters a holistic understanding of food through education on sustainability, nutrition, and food preparation — hosting student fellowships and guiding initiatives across campus and across the Cambridge community to help people make more informed choices.
While living in Boston, she wrote for the Boston Globe’s Green Blog. She also received a master’s degree from Tufts University in environmental policy.
Subsequently, she served as the sustainable food program manager at Stanford University’s Residential and Dining Enterprises, where she educated the Stanford community on sustainable food systems and collaborated on projects with faculty and students to spur innovations.
Silverstein was president of the Nueva School Parent Association and is currently an editor for Kiva, a microfinance nonprofit that helps expand financial access to underserved communities. A committed philanthropist, she and her husband have created an endowed engineering scholarship at Cornell University and an endowed scholarship at Harvard College.
“Dara’s unwavering dedication to sustainability and her commitment to strengthening the alumni community are inspiring. I am delighted that she will represent alumni as chief marshal on Harvard Alumni Day,” says Moitri Chowdhury Savard ’93, alumni president of the HAA, who will serve as this year’s Alumni Day program host.
Elected by her classmates, Silverstein carries on a tradition that is more than 125 years old. As chief marshal, her ceremonial duties include leading the alumni parade through Tercentenary Theatre on Harvard Alumni Day and hosting a special luncheon for University and alumni leaders, dignitaries, and this year’s Harvard Medalists.
A first-generation college student, Silverstein concentrated in social anthropology and was a tutor in Mather House for four years, in both resident and nonresident capacities. She also won the Derek Bok Award for Excellence in Graduate Student Teaching.
An active Harvard volunteer and alumni interviewer, she has served her class in a number of roles, including secretary, treasurer, and five-time reunion co-chair. Silverstein also produces a class newsletter and has hosted virtual events featuring authors, filmmakers, and politicians. In addition, she recently launched a podcast interviewing her classmates leading up to their reunion.
“When I signed up to be class secretary at age 21, never in my wildest dreams did I imagine I would still be doing it 25 years later,” Silverstein says. “I’ve found that keeping my class connected is one of my favorite things to do, and it’s because I have a truly phenomenal cohort of inspiring peers who have all impacted our world in their own way. I am honored to represent them.”
An annual University-wide global event that honors alumni impact, citizenship, and community, Alumni Day is celebrated alongside the Harvard and Radcliffe College Reunions.
All alumni are invited to attend a full day of festivities in Cambridge on June 6, which includes the traditional alumni parade through Tercentenary Theatre, special guest speakers, symposia sessions, alumni meetups, and a party in the Yard with food trucks and lawn games. For those unable to make it to campus, virtual celebrations and local events will be held worldwide.
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