Barbara Ann Kasoff
Jan 31, 1943 - May 23, 2017
Barbara Kasoff, late of San Francisco, CA passed away suddenly on May 23, 2017, while traveling on a cruise through the Baltics. She was 74 years old. An inveterate traveler, she was doing what she loved - travelling the world, seeking adventure, even as a vicious auto-immune disease ravaged her body and ultimately brought her down.
Barbara was the loving wife of Marvin Kasoff for 53 years. She was the mother of Daniel Kasoff and his wife Pam of San Francisco, CA, Jon Kasoff of Troy, MI, and Benjamin Kasoff and his wife Barbi of Washington, DC. She was the beloved sister of Julie Himmelfarb of Rockville, MD and Steven Lipton of Madison, WI. Barbara was the dear grandmother of Ariel, Jonah, Jared, Joshua, Madeline, Brooke, Andrew, Tiffany, and Mason. Funeral services were held in Alexandria, VA and interment was in the family plot in Falls Church, VA.
Barbara embodied vision and leadership which was crucial to the advancement of women’s entrepreneurship. Her ownership of several successful businesses, her advocacy work with NAWBO, and her participation in the 1986 White House Conference on Small Business led to her co-founding WIPP (Women Impacting Public Policy) in 2001. “If you help another company or another business owner become successful, you help build jobs and you help make a better community and a better country for everybody,” she often said. She served as WIPP’s president for nine years, building the organization into an advocacy powerhouse. Known for her collaborative style, she built a coalition of more than 70 partner organizations that echoed WIPP’s policy objectives and vastly expanded WIPP’s advocacy. In addition, she served on the National Women’s Business Council representing WIPP and its partner organizations. With the support of President Obama, she was able to help pass the underlying regulations enabling Women-Owned Small Businesses to secure 5% of government contracts, at an estimated value of 10-15 billion dollars. Recognizing the need for training among women business owners, she developed programs such as Give Me 5 and ChallengeHER, conducting seminars all over the country and involving several hundred thousand women-owned businesses, which tackled women’s access to federal contracts. She founded the grassroots Small Business Saturday Coalition, an effort to enhance the value of locally-owned businesses and which last year brought more than 100 million shoppers to participating local merchants (including President Obama and his daughters). She was part of the team of leaders who helped craft the Affordable Care Act, advocating on behalf of small businesses to help them provide health insurance for themselves and their employees at a rate equal to that of the large corporations. Building a national advocacy organization brought Barbara great joy because she knew women all over the country and internationally benefited from her work and engagement. She became a speaker much in demand all over the world, as women business owners sought to replicate the success of WIPP in other countries. The result was the formation of an international division of WIPP, now merged with Quantum Leaps. Her message to business owners was simple: “If you don’t like the way government regulations affect your business, get involved.” You can learn more about Barbara’s accomplishments at wipp.org/barbarakasoff.
The recipient of many honors, awards, and recognitions as a national leader, her humility defined her. As President Emeritus of WIPP, she continued to press business owners and colleagues to think big and boldly. Unfailingly positive, above all, she was a loyal friend to many. We will miss her friendship, leadership, and grace.
Barbara’s grandson Jonah is autistic. The commitment of Barbara, Marvin and Jonah’s family has been incredible in helping Jonah develop and succeed. We believe Barbara would love for us to help support Autism Speaks which is dedicated to promoting solutions for the needs of individuals with autism and their families through advocacy, support, and research for autism spectrum disorder. Donations in Barbara’s honor can be made to Autism Speaks at autismspeaks.org.