Elizabeth Claire Wesman

Betsy was born in New York City, and raised in the Westchester town of White Plains. She graduated from Smith College in 1966 with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics, Northwestern University with a Master of Arts in Economics, and in 1982 she earned her PhD from the New York State School of Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University.

She taught for many years starting at Le Moyne College, then Cornell University, and wrapped up her academic career after 18 years at Syracuse University as an Associate Professor at the Whitman School of Management. After retirement, she continued to guest lecture at universities around the country, including at Pacific University in Oregon, where her daughter works.

Following the awarding of Emeritus status from Syracuse, Betsy dove full-time into labor arbitration, working as an Arbitrator and Mediator until her passing. She was honored by serving in several administrative roles within the National Association of Railroad Referees, and the National Arbitration Association. Betsy was appointed to various Presidential Emergency Arbitration Boards by President Obama and President Biden, most recently in 2024 as Chair.

Although Betsy was plenty busy with work, her true love was riding horses, starting over 30 years ago with her first horse, Benny. She competed in barrel racing, dressage, and loved trail-riding, and was most happy in the saddle – hanging out with her “barn friends”. She also had several house pets over the years – Dodger (English Sheepdog) and Kaiser (German Shepherd) - who was a regular at her office at Syracuse, and various cats – Kanga, Roo, Chief, Daisy, Bonnie, Clyde, and Tuxedo.

In 2011, Betsy and her husband, Robert, moved to Camas, Washington from the east coast to be closer to their children. They loved to travel to some of their favorite spots – London, Prague, and Paris, and would visit friends around the country. Betsy had many friends over the course of her life, and she will be missed by all.

Betsy is survived by her daughter, Tamara (Brent) Tasker, and granddaughter Sasha, and by her husband Robert Lind. She is also survived by her brother Alexander (Ellen), sister-in-law Joan Vorhees, her nephew, James (Elaine), and great nephew, Victor. She has several step-grandchildren by Robert (Ariana, Dante, Chiara, and Sebastian), and several cousins – all will miss her greatly.

Betsy was predeceased by her brother-in-law Lee Vorhees, two step-children Vanessa (CJ) and Jason (Angela), and her step-grandchild, Nico.

A memorial service will be scheduled at a later date; however, donations to Equus Foundation can be made in her honor.