Judith Alvarado grew up in New York City where she learned practical lessons in "street smarts". Her interest in travel led her to Taos, New Mexico, where she became involved in women's studies. In 1994, she began a one-year training program through the Taos Women's Self-Defense Project, a non-profit, multi-cultural, community-based volunteer organization serving women of Northern New Mexico.

This form of self-defense was a grass roots movement devised for women by women from the Los Angeles commission of Assaults Against Women. Their goal is to empower women and to enable them to make informed choices about their personal safety.

Judith is the executive director of Reach of Clay County, Inc., located in Hayesville, N.C. Reach is a non-profit organization whose mission, based on respect, empowerment and safety, is to break the cycle of family violence and sexual assault through advocacy, intervention, supportive services and community education.