Judith Eastman

Judith Eastman-Williams, PhD (commonly known as Judy Eastman) is the regional director for the Kerelian sector of the federal ministry of Economics and Development. She has formerly served in Starfleet for 23 years, most recently as Commanding Officer of Front Ear Station.

Judy is married to Max; she is a mother of four and grandmother of eight. She resides primarily on Front Ear Station, with her husband and youngest daughter.

Early Life and Career
Judith Eastman was born in 2316 to Jon and Diane Eastman, prominent attorneys living on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Both came from distinguished Jewish families. Despite her old-money background, Judy attended the public school system and interacted with kids from all walks of life. As a child, she was curious, intellectual, and often insufferable. Although not particularly "cool", she found her place socially amongst the academically high-flying kids.

Judy pursued her bachelor's degree at UC Berkeley and her master's at MIT, both in Civil Engineering. She then worked in project management, on terraforming projects. After leaving the workforce in 2346 to raise her eldest sons, she turned in 2352 to pursue a doctorate, which she completed in 2358.

Starfleet Career
Enlisting upon the conclusion of her doctoral studies in 2358, Judy started out in the Starfleet Corps of Engineers as a project controls officer, with the rank of Lieutenant Junior Grade. Though she began in the shipyard modernization program, she continued in a variety of areas through her career. She distinguished herself as an effective fixer, setting right projects that had suffered delays and cost overruns, using a combination of her intellectual faculties and a warm personal touch.

During the Dominion War, Judy volunteered for front-line duty, her first time serving in space. She served as first officer of the Excelsior-class USS Whirlaway. During Operation Return, her first engagement, the ship held her own against superior firepower, as did the rest of the fleet, and continued fighting despite taking damage. During a failed liberation attempt of Betazed, the Whirlaway was cut off from the rest of the fleet and took very heavy damage. The Captain was incapacitated, and Judy took command. The crew, under her command, fought their way back to safety. Judy personally was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal for her coolheaded conduct under fire. The Whirlaway was a testbed for measures against the Breen Energy-Dampening Weapon. For this, several members of the crew, including Judy, were awarded the Engineering Medal of Merit. During the attack on Cardassia, a volley caused the ship to shake, and Judy fell, breaking her hip. Immediately after being operated on, she returned to duty, to allow the captain to rest as the Whirlaway pressed on. For her valor, she won the Purple Heart and Bronze Star.

After the war, Judy continued to serve on the Whirlaway as first officer until June of 2377, when she returned to the Corps of Engineers.

At Front Ear Station
In late 2379, while recovering from a heart replacement surgery, Judy was offered a posting as first officer of Front Ear Station. Her first year on Front Ear Station, as First Officer, was altogether a success. Though there were some unfortunate incidents, like the attempted escape of the Arkarian prisoners, there were also triumphs, like the revitalization of the promenade.

It all went wrong in December of 2380, when a fighter test in collaboration with the Nyberrites ended in disaster. Commodore Calvin Perry, wounded in that test, was sent away (and promptly disappeared), and Judy was promoted to Captain.

Her year as Captain, nominally Judy's crowning accomplishment in Starfleet, was nevertheless her worst year in the organization.

It all began in February, with the mission to Caldonia. Judy blames herself for letting the five be captured to begin with, but is also furious at Starfleet for not letting her rescue them. Two months later, the humanitarian mission to Talor Prime, though a professional success, caused strain in Judy's personal life, as her husband was troubled by the danger she kept facing on duty. She took a step back after that, staying primarily on the station, but it was no good, as in August, the Vierdeau Wildfires on Kerelia threatened her life; in September, when she felt unable to press the Nyberrite Alliance after Commodore Perry's bizarre reappearance, Judy lost her respect for Starfleet. She was honorably discharged on November 20th, 2381, completing 23 years of service.

Career in Civil Service
In September of 2381, Judy was offered a position as a Regional Director for the Ministry of Economics. She accepted this position, effective upon her retirement from Starfleet. In this new job, Judy faces a new set of challenges: she is passionate about advancing business ties between the frontier and the Federation metropole, tackling tax evasion, and advancing the colony on Kerelia. Although primarily based on Front Ear Station, Judy makes regular business trips to nearby systems for work meetings and conferences.

Personal Life
Judy's first marriage was to Joe Berman, a fellow engineer; the couple were wed in 2345. Due to a general emotional coldness in the marriage, combined with Joe's many extramarital affairs, the couple split up in 2349, finalizing the divorce in 2351. They have twin sons, Gerald and Lawrence (born 2346), neither of whom have had any connection with their biological father since.

Judy met her present husband, chef Max Williams, in 2358. The two were married in 2361, when he adopted Gerald and Lawrence. Together, they have two further children, Thomas (born 2361) and Anna (born 2366).

Judy has eight grandchildren - five via Lawrence and three via Gerald.

Noted for her warm demeanor, Judy has formed many friendships over the course of her life, and plays the role of friend, mentor, or just a source of pastries for many on Front Ear Station.

Judy is an avid hiker and swimmer, an adept cook, and a frequent reader. She also plays the guitar, bass, harmonica, and piano. She sometimes enjoys crochet as well.