Barbi Baum competed in swimming and track and field at the international level in the 1980’s and graduated from the University of Illinois in 1982. She was president of their Disabled Sports Organization and a Paralympic athlete. She has been a disabled athlete most of her life and has shared her time and talents endlessly encouraging those with disabilities to participate. She was one of the founding members of Three Rivers Adaptive Sports in 1989 and was recently inducted into the Adaptive Sports Hall of Fame for her contributions.