Judy Stavisky, MPH, M. Ed., has spent considerable time over the past decade attending Amish schools, sharing meals with Amish families, and joining events hosted in the Amish community. Judy has a lengthy career in philanthropy and helping non-profit organizations become more successful. She is a co-author of DO IT BETTER!: How the Kids of St. Francis de Sales Exceeded Everyone’s Expectations, chronicling the journeys of Philadelphia’s student refugees. Recently Judy has been supporting Philadelphia’s refugee resettlement efforts, connecting food insecure Philadelphians with meals, and is an adjunct faculty member at Drexel University.

Books by Judy Stavisky

In Plain View: The Daily Lives of Amish Women

by Judy Stavisky - Memoir, Nonfiction

What does the life of an Amish woman really look like? Over the course of a decade, author Judy Stavisky, a curious outsider, spent hundreds of hours getting to know the women of Pennsylvania's Lancaster County Amish community to find out the answer to this question. She joined mothers and grandmothers, unmarried women and teens, on their shopping excursions for household items, fabric and groceries. They drove miles between undulating fields and shared hundreds of hours of conversation on everyday topics. As relationships evolved into enduring friendships, she grew to understand firsthand how Amish women bind their families and communities together.