Hailed by The Boston Musical Intelligencer as "outstanding" and "fearless," Dr. Elisabeth (Shafer) Suffern, a native of State College, Pennsylvania, is a dedicated performer and music educator. She has appeared in concert with orchestras and ensembles, including the Memphis Symphony Orchestra, ProMusica Columbus, Akron Symphony Orchestra, Detroit Chamber Winds and Strings, Michigan Opera Theatre Orchestra, Erie Philharmonic, Youngstown Symphony Orchestra, The Jackson Symphony, CityMusic Cleveland Chamber Orchestra, Toledo Symphony Brass, Akron Symphonic Winds, Memphis Jazz Orchestra, DanJo Jazz Orchestra, Symphony in C, the Eastern Connecticut Symphony, the Nittany Valley Symphony, and Barclay Brass. She was the interim core member of Seraph Brass from 2019–2021 and has appeared as a guest soloist with ensembles including Seraph Brass, The University of Akron Symphonic and Concert Bands, The University of Akron Symphony Orchestra, and the Perry High School Symphonic Winds at the Ohio Music Education Association Conference. She has presented solo and chamber performances at the American Trombone Workshop, the International Trombone Festival, and the International Women's Brass Conference, including a presentation entitled "Songs She Wrote: A Joint Recital of Works by Women Composers." Suffern frequently performs chamber and solo recitals at universities across the country.

Suffern serves as assistant professor of trombone at The Ohio State University. Prior to her appointment, she served on the faculty at the University of Memphis and the University of Akron. She has taught at the Boston University Tanglewood Institute Trombone Workshop, was a teaching artist in the Music in Schools Initiative in New Haven, Connecticut, and is currently on the faculty at Luzerne Music Center, a summer arts organization in the Adirondacks devoted to bringing enriching musical musical experience and education to young musicians from around the world. She has presented clinics for the International Trombone Workshop, the Ohio Music Education Association Conference, and the Tobi Institute. She frequently gives clinics at schools and universities across the United States. 

Suffern earned her Doctor of Musical Arts degree in trombone performance from Boston University, Master of Music degree from Yale School of Music in trombone performance, and a Bachelor of Music degree from Temple University in trombone performance. Her primary teachers include Toby Oft, Scott Hartman, and Matthew Vaughn. Elisabeth Shafer Suffern is a Conn-Selmer Artist.