How Did I Get Here?

Judy Vredenburgh

Chief executive officer, Girls Inc.
  • Education
  • Northeast High School, Philadelphia, class of 1966
  • University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, class of 1970
  • State University of New York at Buffalo School of Management, class of 1975
  • Work Experience
  • 1974–79
    Inventory manager, buyer, Winkelman’s
  • 1979–87
    Vice president for merchandise, Abraham & Straus
  • 1987–91
    Executive vice president, Sizes Unlimited/Lerner Woman
  • 1991–92
    CEO, president, Chess King
  • 1993–99
    Senior vice president for revenue development and marketing, March of Dimes
  • 1999–2009
    CEO, president, Big Brothers Big Sisters of America
  • 2010–Present
    CEO, president, Girls Inc.
  • Life Lessons
  • “Marry someone with a sense of humor and a flexible job.”
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  • “Meaningful work, family, and relationships are the path to satisfaction.”
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  • “See obstacles and change as opportunities.”
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  • “The school I went to wasn’t hard. It was a big shock to get to Penn and find I wasn’t prepared.”
  • With President Clinton in the Oval Office, 1999
  • “I was traveling the world—we bought samples in Europe and produced them in Taipei, Seoul, and later India. It was tremendous exposure to be doing business around the world as a woman.”
  • With her Little Sister, Sherice Holliman, in 2006
  • “In nonprofits, decisions have to be very participative. You don’t have as much formal authority and resources; you have to use informal influence to create change.”
  • A nonprofit that provides educational programs and scholarships for girls.
  • College photo, 1969
    “I met my now-husband, a Vietnam veteran enrolled at Wharton.”
  • “I was hired to turn around Chess King, but my boss at the holding company disagreed about the direction, so I left after a year. I had a wonderful contract that paid me for a period of time, which allowed me to transition to nonprofit work.”
  • With fellow attendees at the Big Brothers Big Sisters 100th anniversary, 2007
  • With Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz and Oprah Winfrey, 2014