Unbelievable accomplishments honored this week
No one else on planet Earth like Deborah Groeber
by LEN LEAR

Deborah has had four guide dogs over the past 22 years. Here she is seen with “Etzel,” who has been with her since November, 2005. “He is a really good guide dog,” she said.

When I was growing up in West Oak Lane, I was very proud of the fact that my mother, Anna, would get on a bus two or three times every week to go to the Lighthouse of the Blind in North Philadelphia, where she was a volunteer. She would read to the blind residents, exchange stories about their respective families and even teach them to crochet. She used to say it was the most rewarding thing she had ever done.

I know my mom, who died in 1987, would have been very, very proud of Deborah Groeber, a truly unique woman whose life’s work has been turning disabilities into abilities, both for herself and for others.Deborah, 43, a resident of Glenside (along with her husband, Anthony Cirillo), a graduate of Columbia University Law School, is the first individual who is deaf-blind in the history of this country (and possibly, the world) to graduate from an American accredited law school!

(Thanks to the play and movie, “The Miracle Worker,” most of us know about Helen Keller, the world’s most famous blind and deaf person, and how she was taught to read by her devoted teacher, Annie Sullivan. But Deborah has gone far beyond that.)

As if her academic accomplishments were not impressive enough (she also has an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania’s prestigious Wharton School of Business), Deborah also began volunteering at Associated Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired in 2003. She is a Board Member and Chairperson for the Gilles Estate Fund Committee, which raises funds to provide adaptive aids and technological devices to assist those who are deaf-blind.

Through her volunteer work with ASB’s Gilles Estate Fund, Deborah has helped 28 deaf-blind individuals living below the poverty line gain independence by providing over 100 items totaling over $100,000. Along with the Gilles Estate Fund, Deborah recently became Chairperson of the Philadelphia Lighthouse of the Blind Committee. The Lighthouse provides social, cultural, and educational opportunities for those who are visually impaired. Deborah has overcome almost unbelievable obstacles to be able to give back to ASB and to her community.

She has never let her disabilities prevent her from enjoying life and helping others. More recently, Deborah has volunteered at the Legal Clinic for the Disabled in Philadelphia where she served on the Board of Directors and volunteered in the office.

Because of her remarkable achievements, Deborah was recognized by Bank of America as a “Local Hero” through the bank’s annual Neighborhood Excellence Initiative at an event on Tuesday, Oct. 27, at the African American Museum in Philadelphia. Deborah received $5,000 to donate to a nonprofit of her choice. Not surprisingly, she will donate this money to the Associated Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired. (Several other outstanding local individuals and organizations were also honored at Tuesday’s event.)

Tom Woodward, the Philadelphia market president at Bank of America, told the Local, “Bank of America created the Local Hero award to recognize and encourage individuals who show an extraordinary commitment to their community and have a significant impact on those around them. In addition to her own personal accomplishments, Deborah Groeber has shown extreme dedication to supporting the deaf-blind community. Through her work with Associated Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired and other important Philadelphia organizations, she has made a difference in many lives. Deborah is a true inspiration.”

Because she has been out of town for several days, we were not able to interview Deborah face-to-face, but we were able to put questions to her via email. Here are the questions and her answers:

Q: Where did you grow up and go to high school?

A: I grew up in Cinnaminson, NJ, and attended Cinnaminson High School. After high school I attended the University of Pennsylvania, WhartoSchool of Business, for my undergraduate work, and several years later for my MBA. After working for a Johnson & Johnson company for three years I then decided to go to law school and matriculated at Columbia Law School.

Q: How were you able to take notes in class and take exams?

A: In high school, college and business school (which was all before the Americans with Disabilities Act was passed), I would let my professors know I needed to lip read (so that they would try to always face the class and stay in one place). I would then sit in the front row and take notes by hand. I had learned to print in grade school before losing my vision, so I could do that really well without looking. Plus, I could not see what I was writing without a special reading machine called a closed-circuit television machine (CCTV), which was kept back in my dorm room. I read all my books and took all my exams on this machine. In law school, I used sign language interpreters for all my classes, which made it easier for me to obtain the information presented in class.

Q: When did you decide you wanted to become a lawyer and why?

A: I decided that I wanted to change careers and go to law school after I had been working in accounting and finance for about two years. I felt that even though I had some basic competence in these areas, it wasn’t something I wanted to do for the rest of my life. It didn’t excite me.

Q: Where were you living while in law school? How did you get back and forth?

A: Columbia Law School was really accommodating to my needs. I had an apartment directly across the street from the law school. To get back and forth, I only had to walk 50 feet to the street corner to cross the street, and I was there!

Q: What are the names and ages of your parents and siblings? Were any of them blind/and or deaf? How did they communicate with you?

A: My father, Bruce F. Groeber, passed away in 1997. My mother’s name is Roberta Groeber. I have two brothers and two sisters — Bruce, Sandra, Jennifer and Walter. None of them is blind and/or deaf.

Q: Have you always had a Seeing Eye dog? What is the name of your dog now? How long have you had him/her?

A: The correct term is “guide dog for the blind” or “dog guide for the blind,” as “Seeing Eye” is a brand name (like Kleenex or Clorox), and my guide dog is not from the Seeing Eye School. Anyway, I have had a guide dog since I was 21 years old — since I started to have difficulty navigating traffic on the streets of Philadelphia. The name of my current guide is “Etzel,” and we have been together since November, 2005. He is a really good guide dog and is from a school called Guiding Eyes for the Blind in Yorktown Heights, NY. Etzel is my fourth guide dog from Guiding Eyes.

Q: What do you plan to do with your law degree?

A: I currently use my law degree to assist me in the volunteer work I do for non-profit agencies in the Philadelphia area.

Q: Do you have a job now? If so, how do you get to and from work?

A: I do not work. Following law school graduation, I worked for a large Philadelphia law firm, Morgan Lewis & Bockius in their Labor & Employment section for several years. I worked very hard, worked long hours and loved it. I then had two mild traumatic brain injuries, six months apart, and was unable to continue working competitively. Following rehab at Magee Rehabilitation Hospital, I started volunteering at several non-profits in the Philadelphia area and using my legal skills and talents to benefit others in this way. I find volunteering at ASB and other organizations to be very rewarding.

Q: Who are your own role models? Whom do you respect most in the world, living or dead? How do you feel about your ability to overcome so many obstacles? Did you ever doubt that you could do it?