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Barbara W. DeBaptiste Works To Make A difference

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Barbara DeBaptiste, chairperson of the state's Permanent Commission on the

Status of Women, will be the keynote speaker at the Monday, October 4, meeting

of the Newtown Business & Professional Women's Club. The meeting will be held

at the Mary Hawley Inn at 6 pm.

Barbara DeBaptiste is an educator, mentor, resource person, visionary and

advocate for children and women's concerns. Involved all during her life in a

myriad of programs which have made a difference, she is a member-at-large of

BPW and a spirited and humorous motivational speaker. Founder and president of

the Greater Waterbury BPW, she was appointed the Permanent Commission on the

Status of Women in 1995 by Speaker of the House Thomas D. Ritter. Most

recently she served as commission vice chairperson and she chaired its

legislative committee.

Ms DeBaptiste's presentation will focus on keeping hope alive, being involved,

balancing work and family, refreshing spirits, and becoming women of

influence.

She serves as chairperson of the Advisory Council in the Fifth Congressional

District and is a newly elected at-large member of the National Association of

Commissions for Women (NACW). Ms DeBaptiste is a trustee for the Long Wharf

Theater, and the Klingberg Family Centers, and is a founding member and

honorary chairperson of Covenant to Care, Inc. which provides services for

25,000 neglected, abused and impoverished children in Connecticut.

She is a past national president of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women,

an advocacy organization of more than 7,000 members, and is a founder as well

as the state president of the coalition's Connecticut chapter. She is a

director of the National Black United Fund and chairperson of its annual

appeal. She has served as a board member for the Homeland Ministries, and was

the first African American to serve as moderator for the Connecticut

Conference of the United Church of Christ.

Born in North Carolina and raised in Connecticut, Mrs DeBaptiste received her

bachelor's degree from the University of Connecticut and her master's from

Central Connecticut State College. She has done advanced graduate work in

educational administration at the University of Hartford and received an

honorary doctorate from the University of Bridgeport.

Former assistant to the president of Mattatuck Community College, she

initiated a mentor program for students between the college and public and

privatte high schools, and also founded the Connecticut Council for Black

Students and Professionals, a support group for college students.

Her agenda and initiatives revolve around her concern for the family, child

care, criminal justice, education, and political empowerment.

Believing that there is a correlation between politics and education, she

organized the Political Awareness Program to provide students an opportunity

to work with state legislators and become familiar with the legislative

process at the state capitol. She also was president of the Connecticut Impact

Network, a national grassroots legislative advocacy organization.

Rotary.

In recent years Mrs DeBaptiste has turned her attention to women's rights,

organizing seminars and promoting the establishment of resource centers for

women.

"I see it as a central objective for women to support each other," she said.

"Women are beginning to know who they are, where they want to go, and how to

get there."

At the October 4 BPW meeting, Mrs DeBaptiste will lead a round table

discussion of issues that are relative to women as well as BPW. Reservations

for the dinner meeting are $18 and must be made by Friday, October 1, by

calling Ann LoBosco at 426-0472.