[nfb-talk] Dr. Zaborowski obituary from the Baltimore Sun

[David Andrews]

>
>http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/obituaries/bal-md.ob.zaborowski30nov30,
>0,1695147.story?track=rss
>
>
>
>Betsy A. Zaborowski
>
>
>[ Age 58 ] The former executive director of an innovative institute
>helped blind people pursue independent lives.
>
>
>         By Frederick N. Rasmussen | Sun reporter
>         November 30, 2007
>
>Betsy A. Zaborowski, who had been diagnosed with retinal blastoma at a
>young age and later became blind, devoted her entire life to fighting
>the notion that blindness is a tragedy.
>
>Dr. Zaborowski, former executive director of the National Federation of
>the Blind Jernigan Institute in Baltimore, died early yesterday of
>cancer at her Denver home. The former Ednor Gardens resident, who had
>moved to Colorado only this week, was 58.
>
>It was Dr. Zaborowski's wish that she return to the new Denver home that
>she and her husband had purchased last month, and on Tuesday, she left
>Baltimore for the last time aboard an air ambulance.
>
>She had served as executive director of the innovative institute, the
>first of its type in the nation, which provided education, employment
>and adaptive technology for the blind, from 2003 until this year, when
>she stepped down because of failing health.
>
>At her death, Dr. Zaborowski was a senior adviser to the NFB.
>
>"Dr. Betsy Zaborowski's service to the blind of the nation was
>extraordinary," Dr. Marc Maurer, president of the National Federation of
>the Blind, said in a statement released yesterday.
>
>"As the first director of the National Federation of the Blind Jernigan
>Institute, she materially increased opportunities for blind youth and
>blind adults for at least the next generation," he said. "She was an
>extraordinary leader, and she had a warm heart."
>
>"Betsy's work and accomplishment represents the spirit and imaginative
>approach she brought to changing lives in a positive way," said Mark
>Riccobono, who succeeded Dr. Zaborowski as director of the Jernigan
>Institute in July.
>
>"She was brilliant at thinking of what the next big thing was going to
>be and how we could put the pieces together, and then she used her
>leadership skills to make it happen," he said. "She was a dynamic lady
>that got things done, and I always marveled how she used her Midwestern
>people skills to that end."
>
>Mr. Riccobono praised the "vigorous attitude" that she brought to
>whatever she was doing.
>
>"However, there was always a balance in her life between work and play,
>and she could do both extremely well. She achieved a lot but always
>recommended that there be a balance and people were to have fun," he
>said.
>
>Dr. Zaborowski was born Oct. 7, 1949, and raised in Thorp, Wis., where
>she graduated from high school.
>
>"She was 3 years old when diagnosed with retinal blastoma and was
>treated at the University of Chicago Medical Center. It's a very rare
>cancer, and most children diagnosed with it don't survive, but Betsy
>did," said her husband of 18 years, James Gashel, vice president of
>marketing for K-NFB Reading Technology Inc. and former executive
>director for strategic initiatives for the NFB.
>
>"She grew up and functioned as a blind person," he said.
>
>Dr. Zaborowski held a bachelor's and master's degree in educational
>counseling from the University of Wisconsin in Menomonie, and earned her
>doctorate in psychology from the University of Denver in 1985.
>
> From 1970 to 1976, Dr. Zaborowski worked as a junior and senior high
>school guidance counselor on Michigan's Upper Peninsula.
>
>In 1976, she moved to Colorado, where she was a mental health and
>university-based counselor at the University of Colorado at Boulder. In
>1980, she worked in the field of health psychology for Kaiser Permanente
>in Denver, while studying for her doctorate.
>
>After moving to Baltimore in 1987, Dr. Zaborowski, a clinical
>psychologist, established a private practice specializing in women's
>issues. She also was an adjunct professor at the Johns Hopkins
>University's School of Continuing Studies, where she taught a graduate
>education counseling course.
>
>She also frequently lectured at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and
>Kennedy Krieger Institute.
>
>In 1995, Dr. Zaborowski joined the NFB as director of special programs,
>a position she held until 2003, when she was named executive director of
>the Jernigan Institute.
>
>"She was an incredible leader and mentor for all blind Americans and
>especially for me personally," said John Pare, current director for
>strategic initiatives for the NFB.
>
>"She was internationally known and even spoke at a United Nations
>meeting in New York on behalf of the blind concerning Web site
>accessibility. She has traveled all over the world on behalf of the
>blind," he said.
>
>"She was a very energetic and vibrant. You'd be sitting in a chair one
>moment listening to her and the next you'd be on your feet because of
>her ideas and energy," he said.
>
>In 1998, she was selected one of Maryland's Top 100 Women, and again in
>2000, by The Daily Record. In 2004, Smart Woman magazine featured her on
>its cover, and the next year, Smart CEO featured her as one of 25
>admired Maryland leaders.
>
>Then-Gov. Parris N. Glendening appointed her to the Maryland Information
>Technology Board, and later was the first chairwoman of the Mayor's
>Commission on Disabilities. She also served two terms on the Baltimore
>City Women's Commission.
>
>Dr. Zaborowski was an avid gardener and entertainer.
>
>"She had the best flower garden in the 1300 block of East 36th Street,"
>her husband said. "And she loved to throw what she called her 'Polish
>Christmas Party.' She loved the Polish side of her family and would have
>80 or 100 people over for a holiday party."
>
>Dr. Zaborowski had been a longtime communicant of SS. Philip and James
>Roman Catholic Church on North Charles Street.
>
>"Betsy would like to be remembered for three things," Mr. Gashel said.
>"That she was Polish, a Roman Catholic and a Packers fan."
>
>A Mass of Christian burial will be offered at 9:30 a.m. tomorrow at St.
>Therese' Roman Catholic Church in Aurora, Colo.
>
>Also surviving are a stepson, Eric Gashel of Ruston, La.; two
>stepdaughters, Andrea Beasley of Littleton, Colo., and Valerie Costanza
>of Keller, Texas; and two grandchildren.
>
>fred.rasmussen at baltsun.com

David Andrews and white cane Harry.