After her pregnancy discrimination case with the Cherry Hill schools in 1971, Judy heard a NOW speaker and realized her situation hadn’t been the problem – it was society that was broken and needed to be fixed (Gloria Steinem called this “the click”). Judy joined Philadelphia NOW then, in 1974, South Jersey NOW (“the Alice Paul chapter” part was added a few years later). One of her first activities was attending consciousness raising (CR) sessions which permanently changed her life.
Judy has been a member of South Jersey NOW for 48 years. In 1978-1980, 1982, and since 2013, Judy has served as chapter president. After a few successful events, Judy was hooked on fundraising and continued to do that for the next 38 years. She also writes the newsletter calendar of events and has served on the Budget, Nominating and By-Laws committees; mentored new leaders; organized bus trips to DC and has presented workshops at National NOW Conferences on Leadership Development, Increasing Chapter Activism and Alice Paul.
In 1984, Judy and other chapter members formed the Alice Paul committee (later the Alice Paul Centennial Foundation, now the Alice Paul Institute) to celebrate Alice’s 100th Birthday, an event that Judy chaired. After serving on the APCF Board for 10 years, Judy started their Girls Leadership Program.
For many years, Judy has hosted monthly Planning Meetings, newsletter mailings and an annual Transition Brunch for new officers. She has collaborated with community groups including the Southern Burlington County NAACP and the League of Women Voters. Most recently, she was the recipient of Planned Parenthood’s Public Affairs Award, the Outstanding Woman of Burlington County Award, and the Alice Paul Equality Award.
In January 11, 2014, at a dinner to celebrate Alice Paul’s birthday, Judy bemoaned the fact that the chapter had to spend so much time and effort doing fundraising. Barbara Irvine thought for a minute and came up with the solution saying, “We need a tax-deductible 501c3 to raise money so the chapter can do its real work of grassroots women’s rights activism!” The Judith Glick Buckman Fund for the Future was incorporated by the IRS in November 2014 and the rest is herstory.