Barbara Grant has been following her own path since the mid-1970s, when she turned down scholarships to U. C. Berkeley and attended De Anza Community College in Cupertino, instead. She soon became a student leader, and at the age of 18, she participated in the state chancellor’s office strategic planning process while developing a new student governance structure for her college. As student body president at age 19, she oversaw a budget amounting to more than $200 K in today’s value, and led one of the largest community college student populations in the nation.

Rather than completing a bachelor’s degree after receiving her A.A., Barbara next worked to achieve her lifelong dream of foreign travel. This required a lengthy period of employment as a “Kelly Girl” clerical temp in Silicon Valley companies that were soon to become household names—Apple, Intel, and H-P among them. Her saved wages allowed her to travel to several countries and to attend the Oxford Berkeley program at Worcester College, Oxford, where she studied English literature.

Barbara’s experience in Silicon Valley industry convinced her that a college degree, alone, was not the ticket to success as had been widely advertised. Technical skills were also needed, and she finished her BA in math. She spent the next 35 years developing and honing her engineering and analysis skills. She worked corporate jobs, earned an M. S. degree, pursued self-employment, wrote books, and taught many classes to engineering professionals.  

At this writing, Barbara has authored three books and taught professional courses for more than 10 years. She is particularly proud of having applied her expertise to problems that many considered too controversial to address, as she believes that the technologist’s role is not only to “tell truth to power,” but to –become—the power capable of making a positive difference.