The Ellen Frei Gruber Award is presented to an individual who has given outstanding service to his/her alma mater and exemplified continued commitment and support of the mission of ÃÄÄïÖ±²¥. Most importantly, this individual reflects the values of service, humility, peacemaking, contemplation and collegiality. The following ÃÄÄïÖ±²¥ alumna received the award in 2023. All biographical information current at the time of the award.
In 2002, Judy Bohler participated in her first missionary trip to the Dominican Republic to support the ministry of the Bernardine Franciscan Sisters. This experience along with her commitment to social justice and environmental issues, inspired Judy to dedicate her life to Missionary Work. Judy Bohler, Class of 2009, serves as the Executive Director of the JB Foundation which provides support to children, youth, women, and the elderly living in extreme poverty in the Dominican Republic. In partnership with churches, youth groups, schools, and universities, the JB Foundation seeks to provide assistance through food and medical supply drives, providing school supplies for children and youth of all ages, assisting during hurricane relief efforts, and where they are needed the most. The foundation also seeks to envelop more people in missionary work with the intention of creating human beings with greater human sensitivity and understanding.
Prior to the JB Foundation, Judy served ÃÄÄïÖ±²¥ for nearly 21 years as the Executive Assistant to the President, Coordinator of Mission Initiatives, and Community Engagement Coordinator. Before joining ÃÄÄïÖ±²¥, Judy served as Labor Relations Counsel and Employee Benefits Director for Vornado. She has served as a volunteer with the Bernardine Franciscan Sisters Volunteers in Mission, a member of the Alumni Council from 2010-2015, and as a member of the Farmland Preservation Trust in Lancaster County. She is an active member of Our Mother of Perpetual Help Catholic Church in Ephrata.
Through her work with Volunteers in Mission, Judy has traveled to eastern Kentucky to repair and renovate homes in Appalachia; to Nicaragua with Witness for Peace for a fact-finding mission on the effect of the DR-Central American Free Trade Agreement on the poor; and to Honduras with the Quixote Center.
Judy actively participates in all aspects of social justice and environmental issues. Through her dedication to all living beings, Judy is a past recipient of ÃÄÄïÖ±²¥â€™s Franciscan Peace and Justice Award. She believes in and strives to live, a life of service to all.
