Barb continued her education at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida and graduated in 1967 with a BA in elementary education. She then taught in several public schools in Massachusetts and Vermont. "For several years, I worked under Title X for children with learning disabilities. I learned that excessive government can hinder educational success," said Barb.

In 1973, Barb and her husband Jim moved to Washington State, where she continued to teach in public schools. She stopped teaching in 1975 when their daughter and son were born. Barb returned to work as a lead library assistant in the King County Library system in 1986. In the early 1990s, she was actively involved in several government-oversight committees, including the Bellevue Convention Center Expansion Committee. As a member, Barb wrote the minority report against city subsidies being used for the expansion venture. In 1997, she was a founding member of Fiscal Accounting Involving Residents (FAIR), a watchdog group dedicated to representing Bellevue residents’ concerns on local government spending. She was elected to the Sammamish Community Council in 1989 and served for 8 years, four as chairman. The council had land use authority over a specific area of Bellevue.

In addition to Barb’s dedication to her community, she is also involved in statewide causes such as her state’s two free market thing tanks.She is a current board member of the Evergreen Freedom Foundation and also served as a Board member of the Washington Policy Center from 1998 – 2005.

On a national level, Barb continues to champion limited government, school choice and mentoring. She has served on the Capital Research Center Board of Trustees since 2003 and is a Board member of the Clare Boothe Luce Policy Institute. Additionally, she is a board member of the Lillian S. Wells Foundation, a family foundation.