Beret Brown Griffith is an avid reader, reflective thinker, creative writer, and eclectic artist. At 58, she started writing the Beaver Lake Stories to conjure childhood memories and share the delights and challenges of living in her family's elderly, 60+ year-old summer cottage on Beaver Lake in Chippewa County, Wisconsin. Beret has been a skilled group leader, trainer of group facilitation methods, and champion of organizations that foster community participation, civic engagement, and lifelong learning. She was the General Editor of A Chronological History of the Ecumenical Institute and the Institute of Cultural Affairs 1952–1988.