Judy grew up in a suburb of Boston, Massachusetts. She loves living in Chattanooga, but remains totally loyal to her beloved Boston Red Sox.
She studied French in high school, but had the opportunity to go to Salamanca, Spain for her first year of college in one of the school's original immersion experiments. She fell in love with the language and culture (especially the literature) and earned both a BA and MA in Hispanic Language and Literature at Boston University.
For two years, Judy taught all levels of Spanish from first year through AP Language at the Foxcroft School in Middleburg, Virginia. She and her husband, Philip, a native New Zealander, then spent six years in Wellington, New Zealand where she taught adult education classes and worked for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs training diplomats in Hispanic language and culture. Their two children were born in New Zealand—true American-Kiwis.
In 1993, Judy and family arrived in Chattanooga, and she began a 29-year career at Baylor School where she served as Department Chair and taught every level from Spanish 100 through AP Spanish Literature and Culture. She retired in 2022, but soon found that she missed the classroom and making connections with her students. She is delighted to be a part of the CSL Team!
Judy loves her family, teaching, reading, people, and pets. Fun fact: she has spent every summer of her life on an island off the coast of Maine, a community that is still living without conventional electricity—though the inhabitants absolutely embrace solar power!