Jim and Sarah Brady

Jim Brady

James S. Brady achieved a lifelong career goal with his appointment by President Ronald Reagan in January of 1981 to be Assistant to the President and White House Press Secretary. However, his service was interrupted on March 30, 1981, when John Hinckley attempted to assassinate the President, and shot both President Reagan, Mr. Brady, and two law enforcement officers. Although seriously wounded by the gunshot wound to the head, Mr. Brady remained the White House Press Secretary until the end of the Reagan Administration.

Since leaving the White House, Mr. Brady has spent much time lobbying with his wife Sarah, Chair of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence (formerly Handgun Control), for stronger gun laws. On November 30, 1993, President Clinton signed the "Brady Bill" - a bill named in Mr. Brady's honor - into law. The Brady law required a five-day waiting period and background check on all handgun purchases through licensed dealers. Mr. Brady also serves on the Board of Trustees of the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence (formerly the Center to Prevent Handgun Violence), the Brady Campaign's sister organization, which is a 501 (3)(c) organization working to reduce gun violence through education, research, and legal advocacy. In addition, Mr. Brady serves as Vice Chairman of the National Head Injury Foundation as well as the Vice Chairman of the National Organization on Disability.

Prior to serving in the Reagan Administration, Mr. Brady was Spokesperson for the Office of the President-Elect and had served as Director of Public Affairs and Research for the Reagan-Bush Committee.

Mr. Brady's tenure in Washington began in 1973 when he moved from Chicago to serve as a Communications Consultant to a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. From late 1973 to 1975, he served as Special Assistant to the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, which was followed by a position as the Special Assistant to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget from 1975 to 1976. He left OMB to serve as an Assistant to the Secretary of Defense from 1976 - 1977. He joined the Staff of Senator William V. Roth, Jr., (R-DE) in 1977, and left in 1979 to serve as Press Secretary to then-presidential candidate Gov. John Connally.

During 1961 - 62, Mr. Brady was a staff member in the Office of Senator Everett M. Dirksen, Minority Leader of the U.S. Senate. During the summer of 1962, he was an Honor Intern at the U.S. Department of Justice's Antitrust Division. Mr. Brady returned to Illinois, where he held the following positions: faculty member at Southern Illinois University, 1964 - 65; Assistant National Sales Manager and Executive Manager to the President, Lear-Seigler, 1965 - 66; Director of Legislation and Public Affairs for the Illinois State Medical Society, 1966 - 68; Whitaker and Baxter's Chicago Office Manager, 1968 - 69; Executive Vice President of James and Thomas Advertising and Public Relations, 1969 - 73.

Mr. Brady is the recipient of numerous honorary degrees. In addition, he received the Robert A. Taft Award for Outstanding Service to the Republican Party, the Significant Sigma Chi Award, and the Distinguished Eagle Award from the Boy Scouts of America. He and Mrs. Brady were the 1990 recipients of the Advancement of Communications Award given by the Annenberg Washington Program. He and Mrs. Brady were recipients of the Lenore and George W. Romney Citizen Volunteer Award. The Bradys were presented with the John W. Gardner Leadership Award by Independent Sector. In 1996, The Secretaries of State awarded Mr. and Mrs. Brady with the Margaret Chase Smith Award. The Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Philadelphia presented the Bradys with the Jules Cohen Memorial Award. Mr. Brady was the recipient of the Lincoln Award for being a "National Hero".

On February 11, 2000, President Clinton officially named the White House Press Briefing Room "the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room" in Jim Brady's honor. A plaque honoring him for his service as White House Press Secretary now hangs in the room. In December 2000, the Boards of Trustees for Handgun Control and the Center to Prevent Handgun Violence voted to honor Jim and Sarah Brady's hard work and commitment to gun control by renaming the two organizations the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence.

Mr. Brady was born in Centralia, Illinois, on August 29, 1940. He graduated from the University of Illinois in 1962, where he earned a B.S. degree in Communications and Political Science. Mr. Brady and his wife, the former Sarah Kemp, reside in Delaware with their son, Scott. Mr. Brady also has a daughter, Melissa.

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Sarah Brady

Sarah Brady was born on February 6, 1942, in Missouri and was raised in Alexandria, Virginia. She received her B.A. from the College of William and Mary in 1964. In 1973, she married James Scott Brady and they have a son, James Scott Brady, Jr.

From 1964 to 1968, Mrs. Brady was a public school teacher in Virginia. For the next ten years, she worked actively in various capacities within the Republican Party. She served as Assistant to the Campaign Director at the National Republican Congressional Committee from 1968 to 1970. In 1970, Sarah joined the staff of U.S. Representative Mike McKevitt (R-CO) as an Administrative Aide. She held the same position in Congressman Joseph J. Maraziti's office (R-NJ) from 1972-1974. During the next four years, Mrs. Brady was Director of Administration and Coordinator of Field Services for the Republican National Committee.

Sarah has been active in the gun control movement since the mid-1980s, becoming Chair of Handgun Control, Inc. (HCI) in 1989. Two years later, she became Chair of the Center to Prevent Handgun Violence, HCI's sister organization, a 501(c)(3) organization working to reduce gun violence through education, research, and legal advocacy. On November 30, 1993, Sarah watched President Clinton sign into law the "Brady Bill". The bill, named for her husband, Jim, required a five-day waiting period and background check on all handgun purchases through licensed dealers. In 1996, Sarah continued to lead the gun control movement by addressing the National Democratic Convention in Chicago, Illinois.

In December 2000, the Boards of Trustees for Handgun Control and the Center to Prevent Handgun Violence voted to honor Jim and Sarah Brady's hard work and commitment to gun control by renaming the two organizations the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence.

Sarah's past activities include Chairing the Building Committee for the Republican National Committee Annex, serving as a delegate to five Virginia Republican State Conventions, and serving as an Honorary Regent of the National Federation of Republican Women. She also sat on the Board of the Easter Seals Society and the Board of Alumni of the College of William and Mary. Mrs. Brady also serves as the Honorary Chairperson of the National Head Injury Foundation.

Some of the honors bestowed on Sarah include being named "Washingtonian of the Year" in 1983 by Washingtonian Magazine; "USO Woman of the Year" in 1984; one of MS. Magazine's "Women of the Year" in 1988; one of 1989's "100 Most Powerful Women in Washington" by Washingtonian Magazine; and one of Glamour Magazine's "Women of the Year" in 1990 (its inaugural year). In 1991, Mrs. Brady received the "Excellence in Public Service" Award from the American Academy of Pediatrics; the "National Hero --Life Savers and Crusaders" Award from the Big Brothers/Big Sisters of America; and one of the "Mothers of the Year" awards from the National Mother's Day Committee. She and Jim were the 1991 recipients of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations' "Maurice N. Eisendrath Bearer of Light Award". In 1992, along with her husband, Jim, Sarah received the "C. Everett Koop Health Advocate Award" from the American Hospital Association's American Society for Health Care Marketing & Public Relations. In 1993, she received the "Communicator of the Year" Award from the League of Women Voters of the United States. Sarah received "America's Finest" Award presented from the New England Institute of Technology. In 1994, she received the Lenore and George W. Romney Citizen Volunteer Award with her husband, Jim. Sarah and Jim were recipients of the John W. Gardner Leadership Award presented by Independent Sector. In 1996, Sarah and Jim received the Margaret Chase Smith Award presented by the Secretaries of State. Sarah received the Jules Cohen Memorial Award from the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Philadelphia. In 1997, the Violence Prevention Coalition honored Sarah with the Angel of Peace Award and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine presented her with the 1997 Spirit of Achievement Award. Also in 1997, Sarah, along with poet Rita Dove, U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and Washington Post Chair Katharine Graham, was named one of Sara Lee's Frontrunners by the Sara Lee Foundation.

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