A native of Toledo, Ohio, Sister Barbara Ann earned her B.S. in Science from Marquette University, and studied at St. Mary's Hospital School of Medical Technology. She worked for several years in a Toledo hospital before joining Medical Mission Sisters at age 25.

Missioned to New Delhi, India, in 1966, Sister Barbara Ann worked in the lab at Holy Family Hospital. During her tenure, she served as Chief Technologist, and was also in charge of the lab school. She was a member of North India's formation team in Pune for 3 years, and then Assistant Director of the formation program in Maner. "We moved from Pune to Maner because we wanted our candidates to have more of an experience of mission from the time they joined," she explains.

In the 1980's, Sister Barbara Ann became involved in grassroots and literacy work with the people in the villages. One of the villages, Neora, was located in a 100% Hindu area. "One little boy, his name was Poojan, he was about 9 or 10 years old … I taught him how to write his name. It's just 4 letters in Hindu. He was so thankful. I often wondered if he knew the meaning of his name … it means 'worship.'"

Sister Barbara Ann returned to Philadelphia in 1993. She worked in vocation promotion in the eastern U.S. for 6 years. In 2001, she began mission in Callao, near Lima, Peru. She works in 3 different parishes. In her diocesan parish, she is active in a women's group with Bible study. In the parish run by the Scalabrini Fathers, she is a member of the missionary health ministry. She also serves as a health promoter in the parish run by the Columban Fathers.

Twice a week, Sister Barbara Ann visits Pachacutec, a large slum of over 50,000 inhabitants overlooking the Pacific Ocean. "I go with our candidate, Maria Fernanda Ramirez, who is a pediatrician from Colombia," she explains. "She sees patients in the morning, while I explore and make contacts, and then we both go out in the afternoons to do health education with the mothers … we both love it!" She has also recently joined a non-government organization working with small neighborhood teams to prevent violence in Pachacutec.