Judith Patrissi

JAC Patrissi, MSW, is a professional storyteller and author. As a former writing teacher at Choate Rosemary Hall, she coaches development and social change professionals in storytelling, runs storytelling events and regularly tells nonprofit essential stories through film, newspaper, radio, and local television.

Following her AB at Bryn Mawr College, JAC won a Thomas J. Watson Fellowship in 1989 when she began a performance project based on her writing exploring power and cultural identity for women and children, beginning with restorative practices of the Maori in New Zealand, and throughout Southeast Asia, South Asia, and the Middle East.

JAC brings extensive practical leadership experience to her use of storytelling, having designed and facilitated human services projects and policy interventions for criminal justice, community-based advocacy, social service efforts and the United States military. JAC became the honoree of the State of Vermont’s Patrissi Award, established in 2006 and presented to individuals who deserve a place in Vermont’s history. This is presented as a lifetime achievement award to individuals who, over the course of their careers, have changed the culture of the state of Vermont to be safer and more responsive to the needs and rights of survivors of crime.