Coming of age during the Civil Rights Movement, Barbara was one of six Black female students who lived on her college campus. The pressures of being a young mother in an inhospitable environment forced her out of college and she worked in factory jobs to make ends meet.  Outside work hours, she began to volunteer at an urban ministry center and at a women’s resource center to build her skills for a better job. Her work delivering services and starting support groups helped her find a government job. Though she did not particularly enjoy it, she stayed for 12 years because it offered the income and stability she needed to take care of her family and pursue her interest in helping people.

When her daughter had a mental health crisis, Barbara redoubled her commitment to children’s mental health care and left her job to start a non-profit to support families of children with special needs. “So I went from being focused on children’s mental health to becoming an advocate for any family with a child who has special needs.”  Barbara learned all aspects of running a non-profit organization – from writing grants to making payroll.  Now, with over 35 years of experience as a child and family advocate for children who have special needs and their families, including mental and behavioral health concerns, intellectual and developmental disabilities, and special health care needs, she is a respected advocate, trainer, and facilitator, recognized in the State of North Carolina and beyond.