Community Magazine March 2016

Style SPIRIT & FORTHEWOMANOFTODAY 50 COMMUNITY MAGAZINE WOM N WOM N to J udi Franco Chalme has been a personality at 101.5 FM for 18 years. She first appeared as DJ “Jersey Judi” and then as the second half of the Dennis and Judi Show, which airs from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM every weekday. It’s a position that’s taken on many variations during her time there, especially as her values became increasingly spiritual. By now, she’s become a household name, a voice tri-state area residents feel an immediate connection with. Still, Judi downplays her fame. “I will never think of myself as a famous person,” she insists. “I’m so shy when people come up to me, and I’m blown away when I see people line up to get my autograph.” She’s felt throughout it all that Hashem has given her a gift, the capacity to influence people and make an impact on their lives. “I never underestimate the power of that,” she proclaims. Judi grew up in San Francisco, but in time her parents moved their family back to New York, so they could be a part of a more religious environment. While in school Judi didn’t enjoy the structure of the classroom. As a young adult she got a job at a radio station. Finally, she found a place where she could project her voice, make her feelings known, could completely become herself. She never forgot the experience. After her job at the radio station ended Judi found herself floundering, like many young adults trying to make their way in the world. She worked at a few retail stores and as a receptionist in an advertising agency. She hoped that these jobs would lead to something better. In fact, she expressed as much to her boss one day, boldly telling him how badly she wanted to do something creative, rather than spending her life stuck behind a desk. Some time later she asked her boss for a raise. He fired her instead. “He said, ‘You’re asking for a raise because you want to work here for awhile, but that’s not what you’re meant for,’” Judi recalls. As he handed Judi her severance pay he said, “I want you to take this and do something with it to further your creative side.” At first Judi felt humiliated. But shortly after that surprising, transformative moment she called her former boss to thank him. “I told him, had he not seen what was inside of me I wouldn’t be who I am today.” Now Judi is a co-host of The Dennis and Judi Show. For religious reasons, she now operates from the privacy of her own home. It wasn’t always this way. For the first 11 years on the air, Judi worked in a studio opposite her colleague, Dennis Malloy. She was one of only three women in the workspace, and was the only woman on the air. Initially, this didn’t bother her. She thrived under the spotlight and enjoyed an easy camaraderie with Dennis, as the two conducted lively discussions on topics of relevance to New Jersey residents. Judi was comfortable and successful doing what she loved. But her life was about to change – for the better. Judi’s teenage daughter began to increase her religious observance. “At first we were resistant to it,” Judi admits. “But then we liked the way it was affecting our family and we began to embrace it ourselves.” As her daughter stood on the threshold of dating, Judi was introduced to the world of shidduchim. Though skeptical initially, Judi was awestruck when her daughter met her match on the first try. “It was her first date ever with this wonderful boy, and a handful of weeks later they were married!” Judi was so happy with the results she went the s hidduch route for her second daughter and began reevaluating her life in the process. “I began to feel, if it’s good enough for them, why shouldn’t it be good enough for me?” she says. The air of spirituality was contagious. Judi, too, began getting more religious – and finding contradictions between her inner and outer lives. “I began to realize it wasn’t a wholesome environment,” she says of the 101.5 FM studio. “I no longer felt comfortable doing the kind of show I was doing. It wasn’t in me anymore to be on the radio.” Judi left the show, and for a long time felt very happy with her decision. The only drawback was that she and her family were no longer living as comfortably. “We were struggling financially, but I put my KELLY JEMAL MASSRY An Exclusive Interviewwith Judi Franco Chalme