Dr. Barbara L. Guillory, , Ph.D., CCC-SLP, passed away peacefully on September 4, 2026, in Bronxville, New York, following a long illness. She was 85 years old. A dedicated educator, researcher, and champion for children from diverse communities, She leaves behind a legacy of education, leadership, and service. 

The third of seven children of Ashton Paul Guillory and Mary Viola Guillory, Ann Barbara Lee Guillory—“Babs” to her family—Her Early Life and Academic Journey Dr. Guillory was born on July 3, 1941, in Basile, Louisiana, where she was also raised on July 3, 1941. Although her education and career No matter where her career took her across the country, she never forgot her childhood familial and cultural and familial roots in south central Louisiana constituted an essential part of her, and she remained remained intensely proud of her origins throughoutout her entire life.

Driven by the power and promise of However, she believed deeply in the power of education, and in order to meet those educational goals, sheDr. Guillory pursued her studies across the country, earning multiple advanced degrees:received a B.A.achelor of Arts in Speech Pathology and Audiology from Southern University in Baton Rouge, Laouisiana. (1964), an M.A. Master of Arts in Speech Pathology from the University of Arizona (1969), and a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Special Education and Learning Disabilities from American University in Washington, D.C. (1979). As a Black woman, she was a trailblazer in the field of But in spite of these later accomplishments, she always considered herself, first and foremost an SLP (Speech Language Pathologyist, a profession that, in ), a field which by the way, in 1970, had fewer than 200 African American membersan estimated representation of black speech therapists of under 200 (less than 1% of all speech therapists), and in higher education.

Dr. Guillory began her professional career by serving her community directly directly as a speech and language pathologist. From 1966 to 1968, she worked as a Speech & Hearing Specialist for Acadia Parish Schools in Crowley, La. and for St. Landry Parish Schools in Opelousas, La.

From 1968 to 1970, she was an Instructor of Speech Pathology & Audiology at Southern University in New Orleans. 

She moved to before moving to Washington, D.C., in 1970, during the summer of which she was Program Assistant for the U.S. Office of Child Development (Head Start). From 1970 to 1974, she worked as an Instructor of Speech Pathology & Audiology at Howard University. In 1971 and 1972, she worked as Assistant to the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Legislation at the federal Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, and then as a Legislative Analyst for the federal Office of Management & Budget. 

In 1975, Dr. Guillory returned to New Orleans, where she worked for 17 years, until 1991, as Assistant Director of the Chapter I (Title I) Program for New Orleans Public Schools, a federal funding initiative that provided financial resources to schools with high numbers of children from low-income families. From 1979 to 1984, she consulted as an author advisor for Ginn & Company in Lexington, Mass. From 1987 to 1992, she also served as a Testing & Measurement Specialist for the New Orleans Public Schools, and as an Evaluator for the Department of Special Educational Services at the Louisiana Department of Education. 

In 1994, Dr Guillory was appointed Chair, Professor, and Clinical Supervisor for the Department of Speech Pathology and Audiology at Southern University in Baton Rouge, in which capacity she served until 2002. From 1995 to 1997, she also served as Interim Director of the Institute  for the Study and rehabilitation of Exceptional Children and Youth at Southern University. After retiring from Southern University, she moved to Chicago, Ill., where she served as became Co-Principal Investigator and Associate Director of Grant Proposal Development at The Monarch Center of the University of Illinois at Chicago, a position she held from 2003 to 2014.

Dr. Guillory was a true pioneer, focusing much of her research and many of her publications and grants on improving speech and language services for culturally, linguistically, and economically diverse populations. She secured millions of dollars in federal grants for programs such as like ““Project Access”” and ““Project Impact.”” that trained students from diverse backgrounds to become speech-language pathologists.

Dr. Guillory was honored with the prestigious William T. Simpkins, Jr. Service Award from the National Black Association for Speech-Language and Hearing (NBASLH). She proudly supported NBASLH as well as the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) throughout her professional life. 

Her impact lives on through the generations of students she taught, the families she helped, and the vital research she conducted.

Dr. Guillory is survived by her daughter, Lisa L. Guillory, Lisa’s husband Justin P. Smith, and by her two grandsons, Ashton G. Smith and Caspar J. Smith. She leaves behind five of her siblings,: Mary Ruth Davis, Elsie J. Pemberton, Herbert J. Guillory, Fredrick Guillory, and Samuel I. Guillory, and numerous adoring nephews and nieces, for whom she will always by “Nanny Babs.” She is preceded in death by her parents and her brother, Alfie Ray Guillory.

Family and friends are invited to gather and celebrate her life in her hometown of Basile, Louisiana, on Thursday, September 17, 2026: 

• 10:30 AM: Rosary at St. Augustine Church (2717 Dr. Bobby Deshotel Ave, Basile, LA 70515) 

• 11:00 AM: Funeral Mass at St. Augustine Church

• 12:00 PM: Burial at Assumption Cemetery (1008 Hillman St, Basile, LA 70515)

• 12:15 PM: Reception and memorial at St. Augustine Hall ( next to the church)

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Dr. Guillory’s memory to support future speech therapists through the  ASHFoundation Ways to Give page.