Philip "Phil" Bravin, as a prelingually deaf child, was enrolled in schools for the deaf from primary school through high school. Having succeeded at the New York School for the Deaf in White Plains, Bravin went on to Gallaudet College in Washington, D.C. He graduated in 1966 with a bachelor's degree in mathematics and science.

In 1983, Bravin was an advisory systems engineer with IBM, assigned to the National Accounts Division. His primary responsibilities were to provide marketing and technical support to customers with PCs in the Wall Street area. Bravin also worked as a job placement specialist for the Ohlone Community College in Fremont, California, specifically marketing the employment abilities of deaf-blind adults.