Leye Jeannette (Leibler) Chrzanowski

LEYE JEANNETTE CHRZANOWSKI

Founder of Disability News Service and EXCEL!

Leye Jeannette Chrzanowski, a resident of the Washington-Baltimore area since 1986 passed away on   June 7, 2016  in her home in Washington DC from pancreatic cancer.  Mrs. Chrzanowski was born and raised in Montrose, Scotland, and came to the United States in 1964 where she became a U.S. citizen three years later.

In the 1970s, she was the administrative assistant to the Installation Club Management Officer at Fort Meade, Maryland.  After a move to Germany she held the position of personnel manager for Big Bend Community Colllege.  At Fort Rucker, Alabama, she was Troy State University’s graduate program manager.   At Fort Monmouth, NJ, she managed the Army’s Travel Office in the Transportation Department.

Mrs. Chrzanowski has had a long a varied career but her heart remained firmly entrenched in writing. Her diagnosis of multiple sclerosis in1986, propelled her into writing about disability issues.  For three years Mrs. Chrzanowski owned and operated GFI Communications.  She was a contributing editor of “Horizons”, a publication for people with disabilities, and she also wrote freelanced articles for other publications.  She was a much sought after speaker on disability issues for the business community as well as government entities.

Mrs. Chrzanowski was a vice president and executive editor of Evan Kemp Associates, Inc. (EKA) from 1993-1997.  Under her leadership, she brought  “One Step Ahead” from a little known newsletter to the largest disability publication in the United States by increasing the circulation from under 20,000 to over 80,000 in less than two years.  During her tenure at EKA she edited wrote and published several other newsletters, books and pamphlets written by experts in the field of law, disability, education rehabilitation, mental and physical health.   She was promoted to vice-president in 1996.

After her departure from EKA in 1997, Mrs. Chrzanowski founded and became president of the highly acclaimed Disability News Service (DNS), the first disabled-owned news service in the United States to provide disability-related news and information to the national media.  Under a contract for the National Council on Disability (NCD), she researched wrote, and edited “From Privileges to Rights: People Labeled with Psychiatric Disabilities Speak for Themselves,” a report issued by the NCD for the President and Congress.  Mrs Chrzanowski also researched, wrote and edited Americans With Disabilities Act-related content for the University of Illinois-Chicago’s National Institute on Disability Rehabilitation and Research.  She was frequently quoted in the national media for extensive knowledge of disability issues as portrayed by the media.  Because of her sense of humor and entertaining presentations, she was a popular panelist at national disability and media conferences.   She continued to publish for DNS during and after a double mastectomy in 2000.

Mrs Chrzanowski had extensive volunteer experience.  As a military wife she served both the military and civilian communities wherever she lived.  After her diagnosis of multiple sclerosis, she designed a program to assist wives in her husband’s command deal with deployments.  In Alabama she was president of the Daleville School Band Association, and vice-president of the Daleville School Parent Teacher Association.  In Chantilly, Virginia, she was vice president of the Armfield Homeowners Association.

In the early 1990s, she founded and was president of EXCEL!, a networking group for professionals with disabilities.  She was appointed to the Fairfax County Disability Services Board where she later became vice chairman.  On this Board she advised elected officials and Fairfax County government on implementation of the Americans With Disabilities Act to include development of County’s transition plan.  Mrs. Chrzanowski was instrumental in the passage of a County ordinance that allowed home-based business owners to hire an employee to work in their homes.  She also served as a member of the Fairfax County Community Services Board.

The DNS web site was designated LookSmart’s “Best of the Web” for content, as well as Hardin’s “Clean Bill of Health” for excellent resources, and its newsletter was hailed as Mailshell.com’s “Best of the Web”.  For her volunteer and legislative activities with Fairfax County she was selected as Lady Fairfax in 1994.  Between 1998 and 2003 she was listed in Marquis “Who’s Who in America” and Marquis “Who’s Who of American Women”.  She was a past member Washington Independent Writers, Society of Professional Journalists, Investigative Reporters and Editors.

Her marriage to Darryl D. DeSeve ended in divorce in 1975.  For the next 40 years she was married to Stanley R. Chrzanowski, Jr.  Although both husbands were active duty military, she was never considered a typical military wife.  During a tour in Taiwan, she wrote and article entitled, “Chicken Regulations in the US Navy”.  Although her commanding officer did not find the article amusing, it did catch the attention of Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Elmo Russell “Bud” Zumwalt, Jr. who used the article to help highlight some much needed reforms in Navy personnel policies.

Mrs. Chrzanowski was known for her great sense of humor and love of entertaining, lived in Chantilly, Virginia for 24 years.  She was a lector at St. Mary of Sorrows in Fairfax Station, and also at St. Joseph’s in Herndon.  She moved to Baltimore in 2010.  She recently moved to Washington DC.  Three children from her first marriage, two stepsons, and seven grandchildren survive her.

There will be no viewing but those who wish can meet with the family from 9:30 until 10:00 A.M. at St. Casimir Catholic Church in Canton, Maryland on Saturday June 11, 2016.  Funeral Mass at 10:00 A.M.  Interment in St. Stanislaus Cemetery.

Children/spouses’ names:  Deborah M. DeSeve, David G. DeSeve, Jonathan K. DeSeve (Jenny Dyren).  Stepsons:  Stanley R. Chrzanowski III (Laurie Hynen),  Jeffrey D. Chrzanowski (Jennifer L. Goldman).