Barbara O’Brien Miller, a passionate educator, has devoted her life to secondary school students from both inner cities and suburbs, and in public and Catholic schools. Working to create just communities where it is “easy to be good,” she has inspired them to take action on behalf of justice. In the classroom, as an English, psychology or theology teacher or as Headmaster of Notre Dame Prep in Fitchburg, MA, Barbara emphasized global education. Over the past two decades at Boston College High School, in addition to teaching, her duties included work with issues of diversity and immigration. In 2019, Barbara was honored for her work on social justice, equity, and inclusion. In November of 2021, Barbara was inducted into the BC High Athletic Hall of Fame as a recipient of the James Cotter Courage Award.
Throughout all her years as an educator, Barbara O’Brien Miller has always recognized the deep dignity of all students while helping to remove barriers that prevented her students from succeeding. Beyond her work with high schools, Barbara has supervised graduate students in diversity education and has made numerous presentations on diversity, equity, and inclusion at the university level.