About Us

Best Buddies is an organization dedicated to forming friendships between Miami University college students, and local community members (Oxford, OH) who identify as having an intellectual or developmental disability. Our members are passionate about friendship, disability rights, justice, inclusion, and accessibility. 

Our chapter was formed in 2004; Miami is home to the oldest and largest chapter in the state of Ohio! In 2023, the Miami chapter was awarded Organization of the Year. Read more about the award HERE! Additionally, The Miami University Friendship Chapter was recognized as an Outstanding Chapter by Best Buddies International for the 2024-2025 academic year!

Our faculty advisor is Alyssa DeZeeuw, professor of special education, and our host site coordinator is Lynn Goodwin, an employee of Butler County Board of Developmental Disabilities. In 2025, Lynn Goodwin won the John Clover Off-Campus Advisor of the Year Award. Read more about the award HERE! 

*Our organizations home campus is located in Oxford, Ohio*

Through a semester of meetings and fun gatherings, BB hopes to foster life-long friendships between all of its members. Meetings and events allow members to connect, have fun, and learn about disability access, rights, and justice. Members will have the opportunity to connect with fellow college students and individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities as we strive to listen to their experiences and amplify their voices.

Here at BB, we strive to uphold Miami's timeless motto: Love & Honor. BB is focused on forming authentic and meaningful friendships between individuals who may otherwise not have the opportunity to connect. By providing a medium for people with and without disabilities to interact, BB provides members with an appreciation for diversity and inclusion, simulating "real life" after college. Help us love and honor our Miami and Oxford community by fostering a space in which everyone has a friend. Why not Best Buddies?

"A community that excludes even one member is no community at all" -Dan Wilkins

• https://miamioh.edu/news/top-stories/2015/08/best-buddies-award.html

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrFFSC3EFP4 

• https://www.bestbuddies.org/ohio/walker-of-the-week-ashley-sammons/

• https://oxfordobserver.org/791/miami/best-buddies-organization-holds-second-annual-fashion-show-in-oxford/

• https://musicrevoiced.com/bestbuddiesmiamiohio/?v=7516fd43adaa

• https://www.summitdd.org/news/best-buddies-in-ohio/ 

• https://www.miamioh.edu/ehs/news/2021/09/sarah-marsh.html 

• https://www.butlerdd.org/lynn-goodwin-recieves-john-clover-off-campus-advisor-of-the-year-award/