THE VFA PIONEER HISTORIES PROJECT

Judy Patrick

“Unless we figure out how to change policy, we’re not going to achieve the impact that we want to have.”

Advocate for equal access to education, lesbian rights, women’s access to management and positions in corporations including the Women of Management program at Mountain Bell. Co-creator, along with Cindy Morano, of the Women’s Policy Institute in California, which has trained hundreds of grassroots leaders to create and pass legislation in California benefiting women and their families. As of December 2021, close to 40 bills have been signed into law including the strongest Equal Pay Bill in the United States. Past executive director of the San Francisco-based Women’s Philharmonic and director of Girls Count, a Colorado initiative to change systems that impact girls’ educational achievement and career planning. Led Mi Casa Resource Center for Women, a Denver organization that advances self-sufficiency primarily for low-income Latinas and youth. Served on the faculty of the University of Colorado at Denver and Regis University. 

Interviewed by Karen Fishman, VFA Board, December 2021

Photo. Judy Patrick, President and CEO of the Women’s Foundation of California, May 13, 2012.