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erstory - Who's she?
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Barbara Babbini Brasel
("B3")
August 24, 1925 - October 24, 2002
Administrator, Advocate and Political Leader
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B3 was appointed as the first executive director for CT Commission on the Deaf since April 1975. She was able to bring small agency including herself and her secretary with an initial budget of $75,000 up to approximately 19 full-time staff and 40 part-time employees with $1.5 million dollars. The successful agency served comprehensive services including a large department of an interpreting service to over 2,000 deaf persons each month. In the past, B3's mother spent one summer vacation in California near Los Angeles where Barbara was born. Soon after that they went back home to Las Vegas, Nevada with her family. Barbara contracted spinal meningitis from her older brother, Sandie who brought the illness from school where the epidemic occurred. Both kids became deaf while her mother was lucky to contain her own health as she avoided the sickness without any health alternation or damage. Her deaf brother, Sandie or Robert Sanderson is well-known leader as former National Association of the Deaf President in 1964 for two years and serves as board director for several organizations including 2007 Deaflympics. After B3 skipped several grades at Utah School for the Deaf, she followed her brother to Gallaudet University (formerly College) at the age of 14, and being very youngest among students on campus. Thanks to teachers and friends at the Utah School for the Deaf she was able to afford tuition, enrollment fees and new clothes with their help. After three years at Gallaudet, B3 left and found her first job at the US Department of Labor as a clerk-typist during World War II. B3 met a hearing man and WWII veteran, as her first husband. Her marriage lasted twenty years along with her two daughters. During her marriage years she managed to avoid the deaf community due to some bad experiences with jealous deaf women, and being snubbed at the deaf club; she believed she did not want anything to do with deaf people. Her deaf girlfriend, Loel Schreiber had a nervous breakdown after being active in the deaf community so long. Because of Loel's health situation, B3 was asked to fly to Berkeley for an important meeting with the legislators for California Association of the Deaf in Loel’s place. Moreover she found herself inheriting Loel’s works as Legislative Liaison. And this was a new beginning for B3's participation in the deaf community. It was more she had originally bargained for. As soon after B3 enrolled as first deaf undergraduate at CSUN, and graduated with BA in psychology and MA in administration and supervision. Then she worked at the University of Illinois for the Institute for Research on Exceptional Children. That was her crucial point of becoming executive director after she learned leadership and administrative skills from her boss at the University of Illinois for four years. At the same university she taught sign language and the psychological implications of deafness – a popular course that was often booked. Before she was accepted to enter the Ph.D. program in psychology she fell in love with another hearing man, Ken Brasel. After her second marriage to Ken, they moved to Connecticut when Ken got a job as assistant superintendent at the ASD. B3 enjoyed her supervising substitute teaching job but she did not want it for her career. Unfortunately this second marriage ended after one and half year. B3 thought her world was over when this particular marriage ended but luckily she landed in an important job as the first executive director for CDHI. She was glad to have her strong influence with legislators thanks to her past experience legislative work with California Association of the Deaf. Continuing in a leadership role, B3 was also one of the founding members of National Registry of Interpreters (RID) in 1964 and her MA thesis work was to initiate interpreting training programs which sparked the attention of RID. As CDHI executive director she served four Governors until her retirement. Her work influenced the expansion and credibility of services for people with hearing loss involving some areas of mental health, sign language instruction, interpreting, and telephone relay service, alcohol and drug rehabilitation. B3 was a tireless lobbyist in favor for a CT State law to permit credit for sign language as foreign language offered in public schools, and she published instructional manuals for finger spelling and sign language. In addition, she was able to secure monies and establish a financial budget for setting up the first telephone relay service in CT prior to the Americans with Disabilities Act. Most states followed her lead in establishing their own commission-type agencies and TTY Loan Distribution programs. During her heyday years since 1975, there were only two deaf female executives including Barbara in the U.S.A. Eventually a few more young deaf women emerged as leaders but she felt that some women in her generation who were given an opportunity but did not realize at the time that they missed the opportunity and worked much less decent jobs. After B3's retirement in August 1991, she spent most of her leisure time reading, cooking and caring for her pets. This remarkable woman was a secret gourmet cook and used stock pots for her delicious creations. Sometimes she made 12 quarts of soup while cooking but she was eager to share her soups with others. On October 24, 2002, she passed away due to her long struggle with cancer. One of her recipes was exchanged through some colleagues and guests at her memorial service. (See the box)
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