“I am excited to be with guests and to share in their adventure whether they are new to Atlanta or have lived here for years.”

You know how they say you feel like a kid again when you ride a bike? Well, Judy really takes that one step further. She actually rides the bike she had as a kid in St. Paul, Minnesota — a five-speed red Schwinn from fifth grade — out to shops or cafes in the Metro Atlanta suburb where she lives, after years of not riding at all. That’s thanks to Robyn, who connected her back to her younger self after Judy went on her first BTA tour a few years ago as a guest. 

It’s been a journey for Judy. After college, at which she majored in corporate recreation, Judy moved to the Atlanta area to work in youth ministries, eventually earning her masters degree from the Columbia Theological Seminary. Shortly after marriage, her husband suffered an illness that required Judy’s round-the-clock care for fourteen years until his death. Always feeling as if she was called to serve abroad, the church for which Judy worked set up a legacy fund prior to closing to send her to Guatemala, where she lived and worked for four years for an organization that teaches progressive, liberating theology to women who had lost their families to genocide.

After remarrying and falling in love with parts of Atlanta she never had a chance to explore before, Judy kept taking friends and visitors on BTA tours after enjoying that first one, until Robyn finally suggested she be part of the team. Always a caregiver at heart, Judy wants BTA guests to know she is excited to be with them and to share in their adventure whether they are new to Atlanta or have lived here for years. If you are lucky enough to be friends with Judy, you will find she takes extra-good care of you when you are a guest at her home as well, even leaving you surprises. Considering her seminary training and other lived experience, that’s no surprise at all.