Sara Herrnstadt Crosby

Sara received her B.F.A. in Theatre from Stephens and enjoyed a varied acting career based out of New York City. Her roles brought her to Off-Broadway, television and film as well as regional theaters. Most notably, she starred in Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap for the Barter Theatre at George Mason University opposite Kevin Spacey and Off-Broadway at the Cherry Lane Theatre as Wilhelmina in The Passion of Dracula. On television, she appeared on All My Children.

In 1984, Sara left N.Y.C. for Chicago, where she began the Graduate Social Work program at Loyola University Chicago. Since graduating in 1986, Sara has worked as a psychotherapist with individuals, couples and groups in the Chicago area and Madison, Wisconsin. She has given many workshops on several issues, including women’s issues, prejudice and discrimination, and suicide prevention, to name a few.

In 2001, Sara co-founded the award-winning Dakota Academy of Performing Arts (DAPA). She is the lead facilitator and a director for DAPA at the Pavilion Plays for Living Theatre Company. Sara also sits on the board of directors for Breathe Bravely, a cystic fibrosis advocacy organization, and is a social justice and diversity consultant and educator. She is the 2013 Champion for Children Award winner for South Dakota Voices for Children. Sara is a licensed clinical social worker and lives with her husband, Daniel, in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, where they raised their three children.