Sarah Kemp Brady
Chair, Brady Campaign To Prevent Gun Violence
Chair, Brady Center To Prevent Gun Violence

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.