Judith Gerberg

It’s Never Too Late to Seek

A self described “early seeker” growing up in the outer boroughs of New York City, Judith Gerberg found
endless opportunities for learning. Helping out at her father’s haberdashery shop, she learned to inquire of
every customer “How can I help you?” a question she would continue to ask throughout her personal and
professional life. From her mother, a gifted dancer whose conservative Jewish background had prevented
her from pursuing a career in Hollywood, she learned not only how to dance but also to always put herself
in the other person’s shoes, another guiding principle of the person Judith would become.

College provided new lessons, and not all were academic or welcome. Having turned her math
professor down for a date, and becoming increasingly uncomfortable in his presence, Judith went to the
Dean of Women for guidance. Instead of support, the Dean made the shocking suggestion that Judith
transfer to a different college. With the seed of her commitment to the Women’s Movement well planted,
Judith did just that, leaving St John’s, where she had read Greek and studied the ancients, to complete her
degree at Columbia, where she discovered art. Through those studies, Judith realized she had been
seeking truth through knowledge but consistently coming up short; in art, she found a crucial piece of
what had been missing.

Going on to NYU for a Master’s Degree in Art Therapy, a field then in its infancy, Judith found a
way to combine the art she had come to love with her lifelong commitment to helping others. She became
a pioneer in the field, beginning her career in the SE Bronx, a struggling community so dangerous that the
kids she worked with would meet her at her subway stop and escort her to the building to ensure her safe
arrival.

In no hurry to rush out and get married, Judith had a series of romantic relationships, including
one with the editor of Downbeat magazine, a man she spent evenings exploring the vaunted 1960s New
York jazz scene with and Sundays sharing a copy of the NY Times in Central Park: good times, but not
right for the long term. It was on a trip to St Thomas where she met the man who was. She noticed his
dancing first, and when he sat down in the seat beside her, tired and hungry from his exertions on the
dance floor, Judith’s ever present curiosity was piqued. When she found that he had the integrity to match
his prodigious dancing skills, there was no turning back.

Judith and Mort (New Yorker cartoonist Mort Gerberg) got married and had a daughter.
Meanwhile, Judith stayed active in the Women’s Movement and began to explore new dimensions of her
career. Always interested in helping others find their path to personal and professional fulfillment, she
began lecturing at Parson’s School of Design on creating a career in the arts. Her students came from a
wide variety of fields and backgrounds, but all wanted to find a way to turn their passion and creativity
into a permanent endeavor. In time, it became obvious to Judith she had more to give her students than
could be provided in a course, and so she mortgaged her apartment, rented office in midtown, and
launched what would become a thriving career and life counseling business. In addition, Judith served in
several leadership positions, including on the Board of Financial Women’s Association and, because of
her constant exploration of her own spirituality, the advisory board of the Harvard Divinity School
women’s studies in religion.

Through her various roles, Judith saw many in her orbit struggling with something she recently
heard Michelle Obama discuss. Obama recalled showing up at Princeton, her lack of privilege and darker
skin clear for all to see, and thinking how easy it might have been to believe that she was the one who
didn’t belong at that rarified table. Instead, she took the measure of those around her and realized, if anything, they were the ones who didn’t have the chops to be there; she absolutely did. That confidence
allowed Michelle Obama to push through doors that otherwise might have remained shut, and that is the
same confidence Judith instills in her clients; coaching them to harness their authentic self to its fullest
potential.

The past few years have brought change to Judith and her business. Wanting to be closer to their
daughter Lilia (who is also making the world a better place through her role in the President’s Malaria
Initiative with USAID) and grandchildren, Judith and her husband relocated to Denver during Covid,
taking her counseling business from primarily in person to online. Today, Judith’s New York roots still
beckon, and she is navigating the balance between her two worlds. What she is certain of is that she will
continue to learn and grow, always full of immense gratitude for her many teachers and mentors, and that
she will keep asking “How can I help you?” while putting herself in the other person’s shoes.

It is never too late to seek.

For more information about Judith Gerberg, please click HERE.