Grabner, Barbara
Biography
Barb Grabner-Kerns was born in 1952 near Breda, in Carroll County, Iowa. Her German-Catholic parents farmed in a German-Catholic community and Barb Grabner attended Catholic schools. She graduated from St. Bernard High School in 1970 and attended Iowa State University. She received a degree in Zoology and journalism in 1974 and worked as a researcher in Omaha until 1983. She had been active with the Democratic Party while working in Omaha, and became the first field worker for the Gary Hart campaign in 1983. After the Democratic convention in 1984, she began working for PrairieFire Rural Action to organize around the 1985 Farm Bill. She became active with other PrairieFire women in organizing the Harvesting Our Potential Women’s Conferences. After PrairieFire disbanded, she married William Kerns and moved with him to Lucas County. She currently does education and outreach for a sanitation district headquartered in Knoxville, Iowa.
Found in 2 Collections and/or Records:
Grabner, Barb, 10/8/2001
The Barb Grabner interview follows her life chronologically from a childhood on a farm through her organizing effort with the Gary Hart campaign, PraireFire Rural Action, and the women’s leadership development project. While supporting an expanded leadership role for women, she respected rather than resented the leadership skills of men with whom she worked. Her interview focuses on the political aspects of the farm movement at the state and national levels.
Voices from the Land: An Oral History Project in Iowa
Oral histories with Iowa farm women conducted as part of the Rural Women's Project of the Iowa Women's Archives.
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