Albert T. Pimentel was born to hearing parents but began to lose his hearing at age three, eventually becoming completely deaf by the time he was twenty. He originally attended public schools, but went to college at Gallaudet, entering in 1954.

After graduating Gallaudet with a bachelor’s degree in history in 1957, Pimentel taught English at the Louisiana State School for the Deaf. In 1959, he received a M.Ed. degree in educational psychology from Louisiana State University. Looking to further his education in psychology, he became coordinator of the program for multiply handicapped deaf children at Porterville State Hospital (now the Porterville Developmental Center) in California. This led him to further work in psychology and rehabilitation, including serving as the psychologist of the Tennessee School for the Deaf from 1961 to 1967 while lecturing on rehabilitation at the University of Tennessee and consulting on rehabilitation issues in Tennessee, New Jersey, and West Virginia.

In 1967, Pimentel was hired as the executive director of the newly formed Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID). At that time, interpreting was not generally thought of as a professional job, and the RID only had a few hundred members. During Pimentel’s term, the RID moved aggressively to emphasize professional standards, recruitment, and organization, and by the time he left in 1971, the RID had grown to over three thousand members with chapters in 39 states.

At the same time, Pimentel was also active in founding the Professional Rehabilitation Workers for the Adult Deaf (PRWAD), the organization that would eventually become ADARA. He served as the organization’s first treasurer, and later as a board member and managing editor of its journal, JADARA.

Pimentel joined the Gallaudet staff in 1971, first as director of public service programs, overseeing adult education and community outreach initiatives, and simultaneously served as assistant to President Edward C. Merrill from 1977 to 1978 and an associate professor in the Department of Counseling from 1978 to 1979. In 1978, he became director of Gallaudet’s National Academy. By this time he was a well-known expert in disability issues and rehabilitation, and was often sought for governmental testimony, speaking engagements, and quotes in the media. He advised Jimmy Carter’s presidential campaign on disability issues, and served as part of Carter’s transition team after the 1976 election.

During these years, Pimentel had also been involved with the National Association of the Deaf (NAD) as a committee chairman, board member, and secretary-treasurer. In 1979 he was elected executive director of the NAD, overseeing the organization’s education, advocacy, and fundraising programs.

In 1985, Pimentel moved on to Northwestern Connecticut Community College, where he served first as a counselor and then director of career education, providing sign language and interpreter training as well as technical and career education for the deaf. He eventually left this position to become the headmaster at the Fanwood School for five years until his retirement.

During his career, Pimentel has also served on many different committees and boards, including the boards of the Rochester Institute of Technology, the Willie Ross School for the Deaf, and the American School for the Deaf. He holds an honorary doctorate from the University of Rhode Island.