Judith Ann Mayotte (born January 25, 1937) is an American humanitarian, author, theologian, producer, former Catholic religious sister, ethicist, and university professor. Early life She was born Judith Ann Moberly in Wichita, Kansas, where she grew up in the typical midwest household. During her first year in college she was stricken with polio. She then had to literally learn how to walk all over again. She soon turned to Catholicism and, against her father's wishes, became a religious sister. Sister of Charity For 10 years Moberly lived as a member of the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, during which time she was known as Sister Mary Vivia, B.V.M. This being a teaching order, she worked in the inner cities of Los Angeles, Phoenix, Arizona, Milwaukee and Kansas City, Missouri. "That was my introduction to people on the margins of society," she says. The changes in the way of life of members of Catholic religious orders mandated by Second Vatican Council held by the Catholic Church during the mid-1960s led Moberly to reassess her life, and she eventually left her religious congregation. She then taught juvenile delinquents for a while, and in 1976 earned a doctorate in theology at Marquette University. Moberly soon married Jack Mayotte who was International Vice President for Square D. They were together only three years before he died of cancer in 1975. Television producer Mayotte then spent time as a television producer. In 1978 she joined WTTW, Chicago's public broadcasting station, as the Director of Research for the News and Current Affairs Division. In 1982 she joined Turner Broadcasting as Senior Researcher and a producer for the Emmy and Peabody Award winning documentary series Portrait of America. In 1985 she won an Emmy for writing and producing the "Washington" segment of the series. In 1986 she joined the William Benton Fellowships in Broadcast Journalism at the University of Chicago as associate director and in 1988 became acting director. It was during this time that Mayotte found herself drawn, inexplicably, she says, to refugee work. She simply realized one day that she wanted to venture overseas and work with the displaced: "It's something I can't really explain. It was just in my heart and my gut. I just didn't question it." Finding her passion Mayotte applied for and received a grant from the MacArthur Foundation to write a book about refugees. In 1989, at