At one time, a younger Maxine Postal thought about studying ballet. It was a dream her mother, who was disabled, encouraged, but she also told her daughter that a college education was something that would prepare her for anything in life, and enable her to reach her dreams, no matter what they were.

So, the Brooklyn-born Postal, who graduated from Tilden High School, decided to go to Brooklyn College where she not only earned a bachelor of arts degree but also turned her interest away from ballet and toward teaching.

Postal said she owes a great deal to her parents "My parents, both my mother and father were disabled," she said, "yet, despite their disabilities, they showed us that if you worked hard enough, you can accomplish anything"

Armed with that kind of parental support, Postal graduated from Brooklyn College and taught junior and senior high school. She eventually opened an accredited Day Care Center in Amityville and became an integral part of her new home town, involved in the schools and local civic organizations.

Eventually, she turned her interests to politics. She first ran for the Suffolk County Legislature in //and has been "on her toes," so to speak, fighting for her constituents and becoming a Democratic force in the County to be reckoned with. She currently serves as the Democratic Minority Leader.

"I entered public service because it makes you feel terrific when you can help someone with a problem," Postal explained. "By being accessible, by being in public service, you make people feel empowered. You energize people to participate."

The problems people face and the choices they have to make was another lesson Postal learned from her parents. It helped her gain an appreciation for the personal trials people endure.

"My mother was in the hospital and was near death and I had to make some very hard choices," she said in talking about some of the most difficult moments of her life. "It was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do."

From that, however, Postal said she gained strength and she continues to work with a high energy level that enables her to get things done.

"Well, I really like people and I do have a tremendously high energy level," she says in talking about her work. "But of course, I guess I have my weaknesses, too. One weakness is I tend to put things off until I’m pressured to get them done. That is one thing I didn’t get from my mother."

Growing up with parents who faced the personal hardships of disability also taught Postal to look beyond appearances. One of her personal and political heroes is Eleanor Roosevelt. "I saw her speak and I was very impressed by her wavering voice," she said, "but it was what she said that was so powerful. For a woman of that era she had a tremendous amount of courage and strength."

Postal believes in the value of empowerment.

"When a person—a constituent—visits a public official’s office, they can feel they are part of the process," she said. "They begin to believe they can control some of what goes on and as public officials we need to be more responsive to that."

In a world that has unlocked the secrets of DNA and is on the verge of discovering the cure for major diseases, Postal said she has hope and looks to the future with optimism.

"There are so many possibilities," she noted. "If we could eliminate hunger and poverty—there are so many people struggling to survive here and in other countries—I guess it would stand as the greatest achievement of the new Century."