Sister Judy Garson, RSCJ, received the 2003 Distinguished Alumnae Award from Convent of the Sacred Heart, “91st Street,” in New York City.

Sister Garson, a former member of the Central Team for the Society of the Sacred Heart in Rome, was honored for “solidarity with the poor … (for) understanding the plight of migrants and immigrants,” manifest in her long commitment to the Family Health Center in East Harlem, a ministry founded by Little Sisters of the Assumption.

The non-profit center describes itself as a “community-based organization that works with the people of East Harlem to address the physical, emotional, educational and spiritual dimensions of family health.”

“Now, with a staff of 42 dedicated people, and a plan to move to 116th Street into a newly planned building, the agency thrives because of (Sister Garson’s) leadership, political advocacy and fund raising gifts,” the tribute read.

Sister Garson was cited for her “depth of understanding, breadth of compassion, truth of vision.

“Judy Garson is remembered wherever she has served,” the tribute read.

In addition to her “brilliance” and ability to “cut through a problem … get to the heart of a solution,” the tribute noted her “complementary sense of humor, which never turns on the other but quickly finds the incongruent side and quietly makes the hilarious remark that stirs up spontaneous laughter.”

The school’s Distinguished Alumnae Award is given to a person who is “committed to be with people who are poor, to know well those who are forgotten by society, people whose voices are not heard when decisions are made about war, about health care and about education, those who are already in pain when pain is added to pain.”