Judith Nathan
Encyclopedia
Judi Ann "Judith" Stish Giuliani (born December 16, 1954) is a registered nurse
, fundraiser
for charitable organization
s, former Managing Director of Changing Our World, founding board member of the Twin Towers Fund, and the wife of former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani
. She was also actively involved in coordinating assistance efforts at Pier 94 following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
, a town known for its coal mining
economy. Her family is Roman Catholic; the surname was originally Sticia and of Northern Italian
origin. Her father, Donald Stish, Sr., is a retired circulation manager for The Philadelphia Inquirer
, and her mother, Joan, who is of Polish-American heritage, is a homemaker.
She had an older brother, Donald, Jr., who died in 2004, and has a younger sister, Cyndy. Her parents still reside in the same home where she grew up in Hazleton.
She graduated from Hazleton High School in 1972, where she participated in the Future Nurses Association, the Literary Society, the tennis and ski clubs, and the Diggers Club, a volunteer service organization. Interested in both the human and scientific aspects of the field, she attended a two-year nursing program, affiliated with Pennsylvania State University
, at St. Luke's Hospital in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
and graduated with a registered nurse
diploma
on September 1, 1974. She credits her decision to become a registered nurse as "one of the most practical, wonderful ones I ever made…because, aside from the science, you learn crisis management, decision making, prioritizing…"
; it was the only time in her career that she engaged in direct patient care. On December 8, 1974, at the age of 19, she and Jeffrey Ross, a 25-year-old medical supply sales
man, eloped to Las Vegas
and were married at the Chapel of the Bells. The couple soon relocated to Charlotte, North Carolina
where they both took jobs with U.S. Surgical Corporation in 1975 selling medical supplies in the Southeast
; Judi Ross specialized in showing doctors in operating rooms a new surgical stapling method; she was judged excellent at her work. She and Ross separated amicably after four years, and their marriage ended in divorce which was finalized on November 14, 1979. The couple had no children.
Five days later, on November 19, 1979, Judi Stish Ross married wallpaper
sales
man Bruce Nathan, whom she had met during her separation from her first husband. Judi Nathan stopped working around that time; the couple lived in Charlotte for two years, then moved to Atlanta, Georgia
. The Nathans adopted a daughter, Whitney, in March 1985. The family moved to Manhattan
in 1987 and Pacific Palisades
in Los Angeles
in 1991. During these years, she briefly worked for DynaMed Surgical in California. She also converted from Roman Catholicism to Presbyterianism
.
The Nathans' marriage fell apart during the early 1990s and led to a well-publicized divorce case and custody battle. She accused him of physical abuse, and he accused her of physical and mental abuse, along with being an "unfit mother" who kidnapped their daughter and engaged in social opportunism. The Nathans' divorce was finalized in 1992 and she won primary custody of their child. Nathan, who came to prefer the name Judith around this time, moved back to New York in March 1992, enrolling her daughter at the Spence School
in Manhattan. Nathan used her alimony payments to cover part of the tuition for her daughter; the rest came from scholarships her friends helped to secure. Nathan lived with friends for almost a year, borrowing pots and pans. Now a single mother, her parents took out a second mortgage
to help her pay her legal bills; she worked as a dental receptionist and attended New York University
computer and business classes at night and on weekends. Nathan received a New York nursing license and began working in 1993 as a pharmaceutical sales representative with the hospital sales division of Bristol-Myers Squibb
, selling surgical supplies, anti-depressants, and antibiotics in the tough Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn
; one of her specialties was infectious disease
s. Around this time Judith became romantically involved with Woodhull Hospital
clinical psychologist Manos Zacharioudakis; she and her daughter lived with him for four years, until early 1999. Meanwhile, she became one of Bristol-Myers' top sales managers
,
by 1997 managing a 12-person sales team.
cigar bar
; they have said they were introduced by a doctor who is a mutual friend. Giuliani took the initiative in forming an ongoing relationship. The mayor was still married to and living with his second wife, Donna Hanover
, although they had been publicly distant since 1996, and Nathan was still living with Zacharioudakis. For most of a year, the relationship was kept secret, and in early 2000 Giuliani arranged for New York Police Department security and chauffeuring for her. By March 2000 Giuliani and Nathan were appearing together at public events; in May 2000 Giuliani publicly acknowledged her as his "very good friend" and, amidst a flurry of press scrutiny about Nathan, announced he was separating from Hanover. Nathan endeared herself to the mayor's powerful inner circle of friends and advisers. Later in 2000, Giuliani credited Nathan's nursing background in helping him through his treatment for prostate cancer
. Nathan aggressively researched treatment options and Giuliani was quoted as saying, "I felt so fortunate to have not only someone who loved me and cared about me, but also someone who was an expert with an enormous amount of knowledge of medicine and science-she was the single biggest support that I had." Nathan continues to monitor her husband's health to ensure that he maintains a low-fat diet that includes lycopene.
Judith and Rudy Giuliani became engaged in Paris
in November 2002 and they married on May 24, 2003. The wedding was held at Gracie Mansion
and was one of only two performed, to date, by Mayor Michael Bloomberg
. The reception for 400 guests included figures from the political, entertainment, and fashion worlds. As a reporter observed of the formal evening nuptials, "All that was lacking was the horse-drawn coach." The couple have a $5 million apartment
off Madison Avenue in the Upper East Side
in Manhattan and a $4 million summer home in The Hamptons and like to play golf
. They also enjoy attending the opera and New York Yankees
games. Rudy Giuliani's friends say that she has made him "more fun."
From shortly before their marriage until his presidential campaign began, Rudy Giuliani paid her an average of $125,000 per year for her professional value as a speechwriter.
Rudy Giuliani has frequently cited his wife as his “closest adviser”, saying in 2007 that she remains “an expert we rely on” at his company, Giuliani Partners
, where he serves as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “She gives us a lot of advice and a lot of help in areas where she’s got a lot of expertise – biological and chemical. Since we do security work, that’s an area of great concern – you know, another anthrax attack, a smallpox attack, chemical agents. She knows all of that.”
and HIV/AIDS in Africa
. She left the organization in 2006 and continues to serve as a pro bono adviser. Contributions to the fund also created the TTF Scholarship Fund and America’s Camp for victims' children.
After the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Giuliani credited Nathan with coordinating the efforts of the Family Assistance Center at Pier 94, a claim disputed by the first director of New York City's Office of Emergency Management
, Jerry Hauer, but supported by others who say she played a valuable role there that lasted for four months. Rudy Giuliani wrote of this period in his 2002 book, Leadership
, explaining that she capably served as a solid mayoral adviser after September 11 because she “had been a nurse for many years, and afterward a pharmaceutical executive; she had managed a team of people and had many organizational skills. Further, she had wide-ranging scientific knowledge and research expertise.” In addition, he said that he “put her to work helping me organize the hospitals” to assist those injured in the attacks.
She became a founding member of the Board of Trustees of the Twin Towers Fund, appointed by Giuliani, which raised and distributed $216 million to over 600 families and individuals. Contributions to the fund also created the TTF Scholarship Fund and America’s Camp for victims' children.
Since her third marriage, Judith Giuliani has worked to raise funds for St. Vincent's Hospital. She has also been involved in raising funds for Cabrini High School for Girls in New York. As part of her work with Cabrini High School for Girls, Judith Giuliani has hosted several luncheons and breakfast tours to introduce the facility to individuals and businesspeople in order to encourage their support. She also supports the McCarton School for autistic children.
Judith Giuliani has also worked to raise funds for Hurricane Katrina
relief in New Orleans. In March 2005 she received the Community Award from the New York Junior League; Also in that year, she and her husband received the Spirit of Cabrini Service Award from the Cabrini Mission Foundation; and in May 2006 she received the New York University
College of Nursing Humanitarian Award. Giuliani was recognized for her role as a nurse for humanitarian and charitable endeavors, as well as for serving as a prominent voice in promoting the nursing profession. As of 2007, she served as Executive Director of the Campaign for Saint Vincent Catholic Medical Center in New York, seeking to construct the first Level I trauma center below 14th Street
in Manhattan.
Judith Giuliani also acted as the national spokesperson for Women's Heart Advantage, which seeks to raise awareness among women and their doctors about preventing heart-related health conditions. As a spokesperson for Women's Heart Advantage, she promoted the organization as the first hospital-based program focusing on women and heart disease.
As Rudy Giuliani's presidential campaign
began in earnest in 2007, Judith Giuliani served as an advisor and fundraiser, but also came in for a new round of intense and often unflattering media attention. Her first marriage to Jeffrey Ross was revealed in the press for the first time, her educational background was clarified, she appeared in a Barbara Walters
interview on 20/20, and her estranged relations with Rudy Giuliani's children were examined. There was controversy about her travel requirements and conflicts with Rudy Giuliani's aides. Media outlets portrayed her as someone aspiring to social status and given to extravagant shopping. An attempt by the campaign over summer 2007 to rehabilitate her image fell victim to internal tensions, and instead her public appearances were scaled back.
During the March 2007 Walters interview, the Giulianis stated that she would sit in on Cabinet
meetings were he elected, a plan that attracted criticism and that they later backed away from.
Rudy Giuliani said that Judith Giuliani proved a capable fund-raiser who provided meaningful input on his policies, particularly those pertaining to health care, since she holds a two-year nursing degree and once sold pharmaceuticals.
Registered nurse
A registered nurse is a nurse who has graduated from a nursing program at a university or college and has passed a national licensing exam. A registered nurse helps individuals, families, and groups to achieve health and prevent disease...
, fundraiser
Fundraiser
A fundraiser is an event or campaign whose primary purpose is to raise money for a cause. See also: fundraising. A fundraiser can also be an individual or company whose primary job is to raise money for a specific charity or non-profit organization...
for charitable organization
Charitable organization
A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization . It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization (NPO). It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A...
s, former Managing Director of Changing Our World, founding board member of the Twin Towers Fund, and the wife of former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani
Rudy Giuliani
Rudolph William Louis "Rudy" Giuliani KBE is an American lawyer, businessman, and politician from New York. He served as Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001....
. She was also actively involved in coordinating assistance efforts at Pier 94 following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
Early life and education
Born Judi Ann Stish she is a native of Hazleton, PennsylvaniaHazleton, Pennsylvania
Hazleton is a city in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 25,340 at the 2010 census, an increase of 8.6% from the 2000 census count .-Greater Hazleton:...
, a town known for its coal mining
Coal mining
The goal of coal mining is to obtain coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content, and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production. In the United States,...
economy. Her family is Roman Catholic; the surname was originally Sticia and of Northern Italian
Northern Italy
Northern Italy is a wide cultural, historical and geographical definition, without any administrative usage, used to indicate the northern part of the Italian state, also referred as Settentrione or Alta Italia...
origin. Her father, Donald Stish, Sr., is a retired circulation manager for The Philadelphia Inquirer
The Philadelphia Inquirer
The Philadelphia Inquirer is a morning daily newspaper that serves the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, metropolitan area of the United States. The newspaper was founded by John R. Walker and John Norvell in June 1829 as The Pennsylvania Inquirer and is the third-oldest surviving daily newspaper in the...
, and her mother, Joan, who is of Polish-American heritage, is a homemaker.
She had an older brother, Donald, Jr., who died in 2004, and has a younger sister, Cyndy. Her parents still reside in the same home where she grew up in Hazleton.
She graduated from Hazleton High School in 1972, where she participated in the Future Nurses Association, the Literary Society, the tennis and ski clubs, and the Diggers Club, a volunteer service organization. Interested in both the human and scientific aspects of the field, she attended a two-year nursing program, affiliated with Pennsylvania State University
Pennsylvania State University
The Pennsylvania State University, commonly referred to as Penn State or PSU, is a public research university with campuses and facilities throughout the state of Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1855, the university has a threefold mission of teaching, research, and public service...
, at St. Luke's Hospital in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Bethlehem is a city in Lehigh and Northampton Counties in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 74,982, making it the seventh largest city in Pennsylvania, after Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown, Erie,...
and graduated with a registered nurse
Registered nurse
A registered nurse is a nurse who has graduated from a nursing program at a university or college and has passed a national licensing exam. A registered nurse helps individuals, families, and groups to achieve health and prevent disease...
diploma
Diploma
A diploma is a certificate or deed issued by an educational institution, such as a university, that testifies that the recipient has successfully completed a particular course of study or confers an academic degree. In countries such as the United Kingdom and Australia, the word diploma refers to...
on September 1, 1974. She credits her decision to become a registered nurse as "one of the most practical, wonderful ones I ever made…because, aside from the science, you learn crisis management, decision making, prioritizing…"
First marriages, medical sales career, motherhood
After graduation, Stish worked for a few months as a nurse at Sacred Heart Hospital in Allentown, PennsylvaniaAllentown, Pennsylvania
Allentown is a city located in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is Pennsylvania's third most populous city, after Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, and the 215th largest city in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 118,032 and is currently...
; it was the only time in her career that she engaged in direct patient care. On December 8, 1974, at the age of 19, she and Jeffrey Ross, a 25-year-old medical supply sales
Sales
A sale is the act of selling a product or service in return for money or other compensation. It is an act of completion of a commercial activity....
man, eloped to Las Vegas
Las Vegas metropolitan area
The Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...
and were married at the Chapel of the Bells. The couple soon relocated to Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the seat of Mecklenburg County. In 2010, Charlotte's population according to the US Census Bureau was 731,424, making it the 17th largest city in the United States based on population. The Charlotte metropolitan area had a 2009...
where they both took jobs with U.S. Surgical Corporation in 1975 selling medical supplies in the Southeast
Southeastern United States
The Southeastern United States, colloquially referred to as the Southeast, is the eastern portion of the Southern United States. It is one of the most populous regions in the United States of America....
; Judi Ross specialized in showing doctors in operating rooms a new surgical stapling method; she was judged excellent at her work. She and Ross separated amicably after four years, and their marriage ended in divorce which was finalized on November 14, 1979. The couple had no children.
Five days later, on November 19, 1979, Judi Stish Ross married wallpaper
Wallpaper
Wallpaper is a kind of material used to cover and decorate the interior walls of homes, offices, and other buildings; it is one aspect of interior decoration. It is usually sold in rolls and is put onto a wall using wallpaper paste...
sales
Sales
A sale is the act of selling a product or service in return for money or other compensation. It is an act of completion of a commercial activity....
man Bruce Nathan, whom she had met during her separation from her first husband. Judi Nathan stopped working around that time; the couple lived in Charlotte for two years, then moved to Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
. The Nathans adopted a daughter, Whitney, in March 1985. The family moved to Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
in 1987 and Pacific Palisades
Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, California
Pacific Palisades is an affluent neighborhood and district within the U.S. city of Los Angeles, California, located among Brentwood to the east, Malibu and Topanga to the west, Santa Monica to the southeast, the Santa Monica Bay to the southwest, and the Santa Monica Mountains to the north. The...
in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
in 1991. During these years, she briefly worked for DynaMed Surgical in California. She also converted from Roman Catholicism to Presbyterianism
Presbyterianism
Presbyterianism refers to a number of Christian churches adhering to the Calvinist theological tradition within Protestantism, which are organized according to a characteristic Presbyterian polity. Presbyterian theology typically emphasizes the sovereignty of God, the authority of the Scriptures,...
.
The Nathans' marriage fell apart during the early 1990s and led to a well-publicized divorce case and custody battle. She accused him of physical abuse, and he accused her of physical and mental abuse, along with being an "unfit mother" who kidnapped their daughter and engaged in social opportunism. The Nathans' divorce was finalized in 1992 and she won primary custody of their child. Nathan, who came to prefer the name Judith around this time, moved back to New York in March 1992, enrolling her daughter at the Spence School
Spence School
The Spence School is an American all-girls independent school in New York City, founded in 1892 by Clara B. Spence.-Overview:Spence has about 688 students, with K-4 representing the Lower School, 5-8 representing the Middle School, and 9-12 representing the Upper School. Lower school average class...
in Manhattan. Nathan used her alimony payments to cover part of the tuition for her daughter; the rest came from scholarships her friends helped to secure. Nathan lived with friends for almost a year, borrowing pots and pans. Now a single mother, her parents took out a second mortgage
Second mortgage
A second mortgage typically refers to a secured loan that is subordinate to another loan against the same property.In real estate, a property can have multiple loans or liens against it. The loan which is registered with county or city registry first is called the first mortgage or first position...
to help her pay her legal bills; she worked as a dental receptionist and attended New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
computer and business classes at night and on weekends. Nathan received a New York nursing license and began working in 1993 as a pharmaceutical sales representative with the hospital sales division of Bristol-Myers Squibb
Bristol-Myers Squibb
Bristol-Myers Squibb , often referred to as BMS, is a pharmaceutical company, headquartered in New York City. The company was formed in 1989, following the merger of its predecessors Bristol-Myers and the Squibb Corporation...
, selling surgical supplies, anti-depressants, and antibiotics in the tough Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
; one of her specialties was infectious disease
Infectious disease
Infectious diseases, also known as communicable diseases, contagious diseases or transmissible diseases comprise clinically evident illness resulting from the infection, presence and growth of pathogenic biological agents in an individual host organism...
s. Around this time Judith became romantically involved with Woodhull Hospital
Woodhull Medical and Mental Health Center
Woodhull Medical and Mental Health Center is a health care system located in Brooklyn, New York City, United States. Its focus is on preventing disease and promoting healthy lifestyles in the community of North Brooklyn through its fifteen centers. Woodhull Medical and Mental Health Center is...
clinical psychologist Manos Zacharioudakis; she and her daughter lived with him for four years, until early 1999. Meanwhile, she became one of Bristol-Myers' top sales managers
Management
Management in all business and organizational activities is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively...
,
by 1997 managing a 12-person sales team.
Relationship with and marriage to Giuliani
Judith Nathan met Mayor Giuliani in May 1999 at Club Macanudo, an Upper East SideUpper East Side
The Upper East Side is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, between Central Park and the East River. The Upper East Side lies within an area bounded by 59th Street to 96th Street, and the East River to Fifth Avenue-Central Park...
cigar bar
Cigar bar
-History:While cigar bars have been around for years, interest in them developed in the 1990s when cities and government entities began instituting smoking bans but provided exceptions for establishments that catered to smokers.-Features:...
; they have said they were introduced by a doctor who is a mutual friend. Giuliani took the initiative in forming an ongoing relationship. The mayor was still married to and living with his second wife, Donna Hanover
Donna Hanover
Donna Hanover is an American journalist, radio and television personality, television producer, and actress, who appears on WOR radio in New York City and the Food Network. From 1994 through 2001 she was First Lady of New York City, as the then-wife of Rudy Giuliani...
, although they had been publicly distant since 1996, and Nathan was still living with Zacharioudakis. For most of a year, the relationship was kept secret, and in early 2000 Giuliani arranged for New York Police Department security and chauffeuring for her. By March 2000 Giuliani and Nathan were appearing together at public events; in May 2000 Giuliani publicly acknowledged her as his "very good friend" and, amidst a flurry of press scrutiny about Nathan, announced he was separating from Hanover. Nathan endeared herself to the mayor's powerful inner circle of friends and advisers. Later in 2000, Giuliani credited Nathan's nursing background in helping him through his treatment for prostate cancer
Prostate cancer
Prostate cancer is a form of cancer that develops in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system. Most prostate cancers are slow growing; however, there are cases of aggressive prostate cancers. The cancer cells may metastasize from the prostate to other parts of the body, particularly...
. Nathan aggressively researched treatment options and Giuliani was quoted as saying, "I felt so fortunate to have not only someone who loved me and cared about me, but also someone who was an expert with an enormous amount of knowledge of medicine and science-she was the single biggest support that I had." Nathan continues to monitor her husband's health to ensure that he maintains a low-fat diet that includes lycopene.
Judith and Rudy Giuliani became engaged in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
in November 2002 and they married on May 24, 2003. The wedding was held at Gracie Mansion
Gracie Mansion
thumb|250px|Western sideGracie Mansion is the official residence of the mayor of the City of New York. Built in 1799, it is located in Carl Schurz Park, at East End Avenue and Eighty-eighth Street in Manhattan...
and was one of only two performed, to date, by Mayor Michael Bloomberg
Michael Bloomberg
Michael Rubens Bloomberg is the current Mayor of New York City. With a net worth of $19.5 billion in 2011, he is also the 12th-richest person in the United States...
. The reception for 400 guests included figures from the political, entertainment, and fashion worlds. As a reporter observed of the formal evening nuptials, "All that was lacking was the horse-drawn coach." The couple have a $5 million apartment
Apartment
An apartment or flat is a self-contained housing unit that occupies only part of a building...
off Madison Avenue in the Upper East Side
Upper East Side
The Upper East Side is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, between Central Park and the East River. The Upper East Side lies within an area bounded by 59th Street to 96th Street, and the East River to Fifth Avenue-Central Park...
in Manhattan and a $4 million summer home in The Hamptons and like to play golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
. They also enjoy attending the opera and New York Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
games. Rudy Giuliani's friends say that she has made him "more fun."
From shortly before their marriage until his presidential campaign began, Rudy Giuliani paid her an average of $125,000 per year for her professional value as a speechwriter.
Rudy Giuliani has frequently cited his wife as his “closest adviser”, saying in 2007 that she remains “an expert we rely on” at his company, Giuliani Partners
Giuliani Partners
Giuliani Partners LLC is a management consulting and security consulting business founded by former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani in January 2002.-Structure:...
, where he serves as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “She gives us a lot of advice and a lot of help in areas where she’s got a lot of expertise – biological and chemical. Since we do security work, that’s an area of great concern – you know, another anthrax attack, a smallpox attack, chemical agents. She knows all of that.”
Fundraising and charitable work
In March 2001, desiring less travel and reduced public visibility, Nathan left Bristol-Myers and became a fund-raiser and later the managing director of Changing Our World, an international fundraising and philanthropic services company headquartered in New York that helps not-for-profit groups raise money for causes such as juvenile blindnessBlindness
Blindness is the condition of lacking visual perception due to physiological or neurological factors.Various scales have been developed to describe the extent of vision loss and define blindness...
and HIV/AIDS in Africa
HIV/AIDS in Africa
HIV/AIDS is a major public health concern and cause of death in Africa. Although Africa is home to about 14.5% of the world's population, it is estimated to be home to 67% of all people living with HIV and to 72% of all AIDS deaths in 2009.-Overview:...
. She left the organization in 2006 and continues to serve as a pro bono adviser. Contributions to the fund also created the TTF Scholarship Fund and America’s Camp for victims' children.
After the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Giuliani credited Nathan with coordinating the efforts of the Family Assistance Center at Pier 94, a claim disputed by the first director of New York City's Office of Emergency Management
Office of Emergency Management
In the United States, an Office of Emergency Management is an agency at the local, state or national level that holds responsibility of comprehensively planning for and responding to all manner of disasters, whether man-made or natural...
, Jerry Hauer, but supported by others who say she played a valuable role there that lasted for four months. Rudy Giuliani wrote of this period in his 2002 book, Leadership
Leadership (book)
Leadership is a book written by Rudolph W. Giuliani about his time as Mayor of New York City and how he cleaned up New York City, reduced crime, and revitalized the economy of the city...
, explaining that she capably served as a solid mayoral adviser after September 11 because she “had been a nurse for many years, and afterward a pharmaceutical executive; she had managed a team of people and had many organizational skills. Further, she had wide-ranging scientific knowledge and research expertise.” In addition, he said that he “put her to work helping me organize the hospitals” to assist those injured in the attacks.
She became a founding member of the Board of Trustees of the Twin Towers Fund, appointed by Giuliani, which raised and distributed $216 million to over 600 families and individuals. Contributions to the fund also created the TTF Scholarship Fund and America’s Camp for victims' children.
Since her third marriage, Judith Giuliani has worked to raise funds for St. Vincent's Hospital. She has also been involved in raising funds for Cabrini High School for Girls in New York. As part of her work with Cabrini High School for Girls, Judith Giuliani has hosted several luncheons and breakfast tours to introduce the facility to individuals and businesspeople in order to encourage their support. She also supports the McCarton School for autistic children.
Judith Giuliani has also worked to raise funds for Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
relief in New Orleans. In March 2005 she received the Community Award from the New York Junior League; Also in that year, she and her husband received the Spirit of Cabrini Service Award from the Cabrini Mission Foundation; and in May 2006 she received the New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
College of Nursing Humanitarian Award. Giuliani was recognized for her role as a nurse for humanitarian and charitable endeavors, as well as for serving as a prominent voice in promoting the nursing profession. As of 2007, she served as Executive Director of the Campaign for Saint Vincent Catholic Medical Center in New York, seeking to construct the first Level I trauma center below 14th Street
14th Street (Manhattan)
14th Street is a major crosstown street in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The street rivals the size of some of the well-known avenues of the city and is an important business location....
in Manhattan.
Judith Giuliani also acted as the national spokesperson for Women's Heart Advantage, which seeks to raise awareness among women and their doctors about preventing heart-related health conditions. As a spokesperson for Women's Heart Advantage, she promoted the organization as the first hospital-based program focusing on women and heart disease.
Role in Giuliani presidential campaign
Rudy Giuliani presidential campaign, 2008
Rudy Giuliani’s 2008 presidential campaign began following the formation of the Draft Giuliani movement in October 2005. The next year, Giuliani opened an exploratory committee and formally announced in February 2007 that he was actively seeking the presidential nomination of the Republican...
began in earnest in 2007, Judith Giuliani served as an advisor and fundraiser, but also came in for a new round of intense and often unflattering media attention. Her first marriage to Jeffrey Ross was revealed in the press for the first time, her educational background was clarified, she appeared in a Barbara Walters
Barbara Walters
Barbara Jill Walters is an American broadcast journalist, author, and television personality. She has hosted morning television shows , the television newsmagazine , former co-anchor of the ABC Evening News, and current contributor to ABC News.Walters was first known as a popular TV morning news...
interview on 20/20, and her estranged relations with Rudy Giuliani's children were examined. There was controversy about her travel requirements and conflicts with Rudy Giuliani's aides. Media outlets portrayed her as someone aspiring to social status and given to extravagant shopping. An attempt by the campaign over summer 2007 to rehabilitate her image fell victim to internal tensions, and instead her public appearances were scaled back.
During the March 2007 Walters interview, the Giulianis stated that she would sit in on Cabinet
United States Cabinet
The Cabinet of the United States is composed of the most senior appointed officers of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States, which are generally the heads of the federal executive departments...
meetings were he elected, a plan that attracted criticism and that they later backed away from.
Rudy Giuliani said that Judith Giuliani proved a capable fund-raiser who provided meaningful input on his policies, particularly those pertaining to health care, since she holds a two-year nursing degree and once sold pharmaceuticals.