Barb McAtee has been a member of the Baha’i Faith since 1966. She has served on the local Spiritual Assemblies of Kansas City, MO, Evanston, IL, Manhattan, KS, and Overland Park, KS. She also served at the office of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of the United States in Evanston, IL for two years. She has traveled extensively, including a nine-day pilgrimage to the Baha’i World Center in Haifa, Israel and to other holy sites in Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Nazareth, the Sea of Galilee, Cairo, and London.
Barb is a trained study circle tutor. She has also taken various classes regarding the Baha’i Faith and other faiths through Wilmette University, an online academic institute. She is trained in CISM (Critical Incident Stress Management). She served on the CISM team and the Diversity Advisory Council at KU Med; and was a founding member of KUMC Interfaith at KU Med, where she retired in 2003. In addition to being a member of the board of GKCIC, she is:
- Member of the Board of Directors of Cultural Crossroads
- Member of the Board of Shawnee Mission Hospital’s Institute for Spirituality and Health
- Dialogue Racism Facilitator
- CPR/Advanced First Aid Trainer for the Red Cross
- Explorer Post Advisor
- Cub Scout Den Mother
- Interfaith Advisory Council at Kansas State University
- 2011 recipient of the Vern Barnet Interfaith Service Award in 2011
She majored in Criminal Justice at Washburn University. She was a legal secretary for four years and a police officer/detective for 24 years. She is currently employed by Fire Consulting International, Inc., a fire consulting and investigation firm.
She and her husband Rob enjoy biking, hiking, traveling, wilderness camping, whitewater rafting, kayaking, canoeing, dancing, music, and playing with grandchildren. They host interfaith devotions at “Camp Harmony” each year during the Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield, Kansas. For several years, Barb wrote music reviews and interviews of bluegrass entertainers for the former publication, Cross Country Magazine.