Judy Dobin is a Co-Founder and Chairman of Valley Forge Fabrics, Inc. Valley Forge Fabrics is the largest decorative fabric supplier to the Hospitality industry worldwide and hosts fully staffed offices in the USA, and around the world. Valley Forge was founded in 1977, is headquartered in South Florida and as an industry leader prides itself on its agility, speed and adaptability, as well as continually being on the forefront of technical innovation and sustainability for over forty years.
Judy is an active philanthropist for local, national, and international charities.
Judy, and her husband Daniel, sponsored the founding of a program at the University of Miami for children with hearing problems. Originally called âECHOâ and now renamed the Childrenâs Hearing Program, it serves children from birth through 18 years of age, who are not âstone deafâ, but suffer from deficiencies in hearing. Since its inception in 2012, the program has served over a thousand children. The program not only supplies children with cochlear implants or hearing aids, depending on the type or severity of the hearing loss, but also offers speech therapy, psychological services to the children as well as their families, and a myriad of other services as well.
For more than ten years, Judy has been an active supporter of JAFCO, the Jewish Adoption and Foster Care Options in south Florida, an organization that serves abused and neglected children in south Florida and statewide. JAFCO has a full-time, fully staffed residential village with 8 group houses, as well as an emergency overnight center. JAFCO also developed and supports the Ability Center, a residential facility that serves children and their families with autism, as well as other physical and emotional disabilities.
She is a member of the Board of Directors of the SE Region of American Friends of Magen David Adom. Magen David Adom in Israel â the Red Star of David â is Israelâs ambulance service, Emergency Medical Services, and disaster relief organization which operates according to the principles of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. The American Friendâs organization works to help upgrade Magen David Adomâs emergency medical and blood services, to help save lives in Israel, and is currently building a new underground Blood Services center.
She is also a member of the Grant Committee of Common Thread for the Cure, an organization whose purpose is to âunite the furnishings industryâ in the battle against breast cancer, and to support people or families within our industry who have breast cancer through Helping Hand grants.
She was, for many years, a member of the Board of Directors of the Bânai Bârith Cuban Jewish Relief Project, and has led many humanitarian missions to Cuba, bringing needed supplies to both the Jewish community, and the Methodist community.
Judy has been an active member of the Network of Executive Women in Hospitality since its inception. She was the first woman who did not live in California, to join and become active in NEWH. She was the founding President of the Greater New York Chapter and served on the National Board of Directors of NEWH for over a decade.
She is the recipient of the 2010 ICON of the Industry Award, and she was the first woman to be so honored by NEWH.
She is, and has always been, an advocate of womenâs rights and empowering women. She is quite proud and feels very fortunate to have been able to mentor and help many women during her life. She derives great happiness and satisfaction by furthering the efforts of women to succeed in our industry.
Judy received an AB Degree (cum laude) from Bryn Mawr College. She lives in Fort Lauderdale, Florida with her husband, Daniel, to whom she has been married for 50 years. She is the mother of 5 children and a grandmother of 9. She loves running, boating, deep sea fishing, reading, traveling, and working. Most of all, she loves spending time with her children and grandchildren.
