For Dallas District 9
MEET JUDY!
A Proud Texan and Dallasite
Born and raised in Washington, DC, Judy proudly calls Dallas her home now. To her, Dallas reflects all the values her parents and her school, Sidwell Friends, instilled in her from a young age - integrity, honesty, hard work, community service, academics, a love for arts, music, sports & nature and an opportunity to build a better life for herself and others. These values are core to Judy as a person, values that have shaped her and continue to guide her even today.
JUDY'S EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE
Encouraged by her parents and teachers to be curious about everything, Judy earned her BA in French Literature, Religious Studies and pre-medical studies at University of Virginia. She then attended Harvard Divinity School and earned a Masters of Theological Studies (MTS). Next, she earned an MA and PhD in Sociology at Harvard and studied at Harvard Business School.
Her parents had also stressed the importance of hard work. So Judy funded part of her time in school working as a dishwasher for UVA’s athletic dining hall, waiting tables, painting houses, and teaching undergraduates.
Judy’s studies enabled her to teach in primary schools and universities, work as a consultant for Fortune 1000 companies on Diversity initiatives, and as an analyst for two Federal Departments – where she drafted a $2 billion zero-based budget for Aviation Safety.
For the past decade she has worked in IT, working with developers to design various apps, drafting multi-million dollar IT proposals for Fortune 500 companies, and focusing on risk and regulatory compliance, disaster recovery planning, and Information Security focusing on data loss prevention.
JUDY'S COMMITMENT TO COMMUNITIES
Ever since seventh grade, Judy has been actively participating in the communities she lived in and volunteered her services to several food, shelter and nature programs, including So Others May Eat, Meals on Wheels, Second Harvest Heartland, Clean up Anacostia and urban clean up programs. For 3½ years she also volunteered every week tutoring preschoolers at the family homeless shelter People Serving People. Even the pandemic has not been able to dampen Judy's community service spirit - she has continued her community service engagements including most recently at the Dallas warming centers during the recent winter storm.
THE MOVE TO THE PROMISED LAND DALLAS
Judy and Ari, her husband, met and fell in love 10 years ago in Washington, DC.
Ari’s work took them to Minneapolis, MN, where they lived for four and a half years. When Ari had an opportunity to work in California’s Bay Area, they moved there.
In spite of the natural beauty of the Bay Area, Judy and Ari very quickly recognized that they would not settle there. Many of the cities had become run down, and all were extremely overpriced, not to mention the plethora of social issues that plagued the cities. Judy and Ari were frequently quite disturbed by what they saw but felt powerless to make any meaningful impact. Knowing that Ari had the flexibility to work from anywhere, and with an absolute faith that she would find a job, Judy quit her job. After twenty months, three weeks, five days, and eight hours in California, Judy and Ari, along with their three cats – Isaac, Phillip and George, hit the road for Dallas to make their home in Dallas. Dallas, a vibrant modern city with strong Texan values, had long attracted Judy and Ari. For them, as for many others, Dallas is the new promised land.
Shortly after moving to Dallas, Judy and Ari found their dream home in Old Lake Highlands, where they have enjoyed the beauty of White Rock Lake, the friendliness of neighbors, the tranquility of their backyard, and the satisfaction of growing vegetables for much of the year.
Judy and Ari believed and continue to believe that Dallas is the best city in America, with its diverse friendly community, amazing food scene, vibrant arts, music & sports, dynamic business opportunities, and beautiful trails, parks and waters. And these things, and more, are the things that Judy vows to protect as a Dallas City Council member.
