Few people made as great an impact on the public affairs career field as Judy Bivens.

Few people made chief master sergeant after only nineteen years of service, were awarded the Meritorious Service Medal six times, or earned distinguished graduate honors at every professional military education school they ever attended.

Judy Bivens did all that — and more.

One of the first female public affairs chief master sergeants, Judy served in all areas of the career field — internal information, media relations, and community relations. Her assignments were as diverse as her talents, with postings at Barksdale AFB, Louisiana; Reese AFB, Texas; Ankara Air Station, Turkey; Yokota Air Base, Japan; Scott AFB, Illinois; and Randolph AFB, Texas.

Judy excelled at one of the toughest jobs the Air Force has — putting the right people in the right place at the right time — while deftly maintaining that delicate balancing act between the needs of the Air Force and the desires of the individual. As the chief of enlisted public affairs assignments at the Air Force Personnel Center at Randolph, she was responsible for assignments and related personnel actions for more than 1,600 public affairs, broadcaster, and band professionals. She analyzed manning and retention trends and executed accession strategies to ensure sustainment of all the career field’s specialties.

The stripes kept coming...

Judy was well prepared for that critical – and often thankless – job, having previously been the public affairs resource manager at Headquarters, Air Mobility Command at Scott AFB. She managed manning levels, personnel programs, funds, equipment, and training for the command's public affairs officers, enlisted members, and civilians, as well as deploying personnel to support emergency operations worldwide.

Judy’s commitment to the Air Force and its people, indeed to all veterans, didn’t stop after she retired from active duty. From 2004 to 2020, she was the Veterans Service Officer for McNairy County, Tennessee. In that position, she assisted veterans in navigating the Veterans Administration system, helping them obtain disability compensation, low-income and elderly wartime veterans’ pension benefits, and health care. In 2018, she received the Sterling Award, recognizing her as one of the most influential women in West Tennessee, for her efforts on behalf of Tennessee veterans, her service on the county board of Habitat for Humanity, and her work as a Voice of Hope on behalf of the American Cancer Society.

A Life Member of AFPAA, Judy served on the association’s board of directors for six years, and led the organization as board chair in 2017 and 2018. She continues serving AFPAA today, providing advice and support to the current board, serving on committees, and managing the association’s Facebook page.

For more about Judy's distinguished career, you can read her biography here.

Judy's list of accomplishments is long, but perhaps her greatest one was serving as a role model for countless officer, enlisted, and civilian public affairs professionals, encouraging both their personal and professional development. Leading by example and always placing others before herself, she was a trailblazing female in the Air Force public affairs career field but was never one to highlight the many "firsts" she achieved.