Judy Vaughan, CSJ, is the Founding Director of Alexandria House, a transitional residence and neighborhood center supporting women and children in need since its establishment in 1996 in LA.
Before returning to Los Angeles, Judy served as Project Coordinator for Women for Guatemala, a solidarity organization committed to raising awareness about human rights abuses in Guatemala.
Judy also served as the National Coordinator for the National Assembly of Religious Women, a Catholic feminist organization dedicated to advocating for justice in church and society and has co-facilitated over 100 “Multicultural Look at Racism” workshops across the United States.
Judy holds a Ph.D. in Religious Social Ethics and an M.A. in Religious Studies and Sociology from the University of Chicago. She also earned an M.A. in Sociology from San Diego State University. Judy holds a B.A. in Sociology (Magna Cum Laude) from Mount St. Mary’s College.
Judy is a member of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet in Los Angeles and co-parents her 25-year-old daughter.
Judy has received numerous awards, including recognition as a “Woman of Justice” by NETWORK, as an “Outstanding Founder” at the National Philanthropy Day, and as a “Woman of the Year” by the Los Angeles County Commission for Women.
Key themes emerging out of our conversation:
- Who gets to write the narrative.
- DNA does not make a family love us.
- Co-parenting Renisha: A Miracle for Sister Judy.
- Those who have the least deserve the very best.
- The work at Alexandria house is really justice work.
- Witnessing miracles and seeing radical changes in individual lives.
- The housing crisis in LA, 84,000 homeless people and 11,000 shelter beds.
- Ensuring a sense of community support, home, friendship, and respect.
- Colonization of the mind, how societal structures legitimize unjust behaviours.
- Blaming those who are struggling to survive, obscuring the systemic obstacles.
- Being more than just t-shirt activists, finding issues that stick in your throat like a washcloth.
- Challenging the dichotomy between liberalism and radicalism, embracing the radical path.
- The transformative impact of engaging with an international community, juxtaposing experiential learning with formal academic education.
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