By Jane Keller Gordon, Contributing Writer
Southborough – Dayna Altman, a 2010 Algonquin Regional High School graduate, is in a very good place. She graduated from Northeastern University with a degree in human services and psychology in 2015 and currently works at McLean Hospital as a clinical educator. Now, she’s organizing a seminar for a nonprofit organization she and her younger sister, Jamie, created called The Bea(you)tiful Project, featuring empowering speakers.
More importantly, Altman is in control of her long-term eating disorder.
“It has taken a long time to realize that this isn’t a ‘one and done’ fight, this is a forever fight,” she said. “I used to be under the impression that I would reach the point of being completely recovered. I’ve realized that I’m doing the hardest work in this moment.”
A turning point for Altman was the strain that her illness put on her relationship with Jamie, who is now a junior at Ithaca College.
“In 2011, I was in treatment for my eating disorder,” Altman recalled. “I took a medical leave from school for a semester. It put strain on my relationship with my sister. I wanted to be a good role model for her. I felt that I let her down.”
During the summer of 2011, the Altman sisters founded The Bea(you)tiful Project.
“I wanted to turn my pain into meaning. This thing that I grew up with was so silenced,” Altman commented.
The sisters focused their initial efforts on raising funds for the National Eating Disorders Association by selling handmade woven bracelets for $5 each.
They created a YouTube channel with videos that communicated their positive messages about self-image.
“We post montage videos of women who have come to fight negative stereotypes,” Altman explained.
The sisters also are sponsoring an annual summer “Empowerment Retreat” for girls at the Pemi Youth Center Plymouth, N.H.
Next up for Altman is the “Evening Empowerment Speaker Series” to be held Saturday, Sept. 10, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the Prana Center, 21 Charles St., in Holliston.
Her co-workers, high school and college friends, role models, and mentors will present their unique stories. Dessert will follow the speakers.
“Topics range from battling mental illness to facing the world that we live in today to healing from trauma,” Altman explained. “Speakers are from age 20s to late 40s. I’ve taken age out of the equation. You can be inspired by anyone.”
The gathering is targeted for girls and woman aged 16 and up. Proceeds from the $5 per person admission fee will be donated to the National Organization for Women (NOW).
Altman grew up in Southborough with Jamie and her parents, Andy and Sheryl. She was an active member of the children’s theater at the Prana Center, led by Roberta Welner, which adds to her sense of gratification to be holding her seminar there. She said that her involvement in theater and dance was a mixed blessing.
“I feel confident speaking to a big crowd, but it was harmful in terms of [expected] body appearance,” she said.
Altman said that her activism was inspired by a course she took as a senior at Algonquin – Woman in the U.S. – taught by Kathleen Salt.
At Northeastern, she ran a fashion show called “Fashion in Action.” Clothing that was modeled was donated to domestic violence shelters around Massachusetts. She also organized “I See I Speak I Pledge,” an outdoor festival that focused on empowering women to speak out about sexual assault.
According to Altman, the upcoming seminar in Holliston is “a huge celebration of how far I have come.”
To RSVP, email [email protected]. For more information, visit beayoutiful.org.