Judy Barsamian-Armstrong (Bar-sam-eeyen) is a powerful voice of resilience, reinvention, and unwavering faith—known for turning life's deepest pain into purpose-driven impact. Raised on a farm, Judy learned early that life demands grit, perseverance, and trust in seasons you don't always understand. That foundation would become the backbone of a life marked not by ease—but by extraordinary endurance.

Judy was elected as president of her nursing class, and in 1989, she received the honour of being named the first OR RN of the Year at Kaweah Delta District Hospital in Visalia, CA. Judy developed an outstanding professional career, spending more than ten years as CEO of a multi-specialty Ambulatory Surgery Center in San Luis Obispo, CA. She demonstrated excellence, accountability, and a strong dedication to patient care.

With her background as a Registered Nurse and healthcare executive, Judy knows how to lead under pressure and make crucial decisions when necessary. She was a speaker at Becker's ASC National Conference for three consecutive years in breakout sessions and was included in Becker's "132 ASC Administrators to Know" list in 2015.

In 2018, her world shifted in ways few could imagine. Within the same year, Judy lost both her mother and her brother—grief that would mark the beginning of a season of profound personal transformation. From 2018 to 2025, she expanded into real estate, serving clients across San Luis Obispo County as an Accredited Buyer Representative. She gained recognition for her integrity, worked with both first-time buyers and luxury clients, won multiple awards, and joined a leading real estate team.

Today, she continues as a referral agent while stepping fully into her greater calling. But behind the professional success was a life unfolding with unimaginable challenges. Judy experienced what she calls her "Perfect Storm"—a collision of betrayal/divorce, a diagnosis without a cure and the painful necessity of rebuilding her life from the ground up. And just as she began to rise again, another storm hit.

Judy transitioned from a six-figure salary to a career in real estate and then to searching for a job while planning for a speaking career. At this time, her husband received a diagnosis of terminal cancer. Despite facing significant challenges and uncertainty, she demonstrated resilience and maintained hope while caring for her husband and striving to keep their home. This is not a story tied up with a perfect ending. This is a story of living through it—right now. And that is what makes Judy's voice so rare and so needed. She doesn't speak from theory—she speaks from the middle of the storm. From grief. From pressure. From showing up on the hardest days when quitting might seem easier.

Judy is the author of a transformational eBook, "Faith Through Stroms"(available on her website) and is an inspirational speaker who has shared her message at church gatherings, one on one's with women and corporate leadership events. Her message is for those who feel like they're barely holding it together...for those navigating loss, uncertainty, or starting over, as well as to build and expand in leadership...and for anyone who needs to be reminded that even now—especially now—purpose still exists. Her signature message centers on overcoming life's storms, reclaiming identity, and choosing to rise—again and again—no matter how many times life knocks you down.

Now stepping fully into her calling as a speaker, and with a book on the horizon, Judy is on a mission to help others see that God is still writing their story. Through raw honesty, deep faith, and hard-won wisdom, she reminds every audience of one powerful truth: You can walk through the storm—and still become who you were meant to be. Never give up!

Website: www.Judyb-armstrong.com

Speaker Booking link: https://calendly.com/judy-judyb-armstrong/30min

Welcome to 12-minute convos with Jesus Believers.

God chose first to have a conversation with us, His creation.

Our prayer is that this listening space brings growth and transforms your life forever.

Praise God for you, Judy.

What part of the world are you in today?

I live in San Luis Obispo, California, which is halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco.

It's a great pleasure to connect with you.

I would love to know how important is integrity for you?

Integrity is one of my main life values.

I live by integrity, doing what's right no matter who's looking and doing what you say you're going to do and being the best person that you can be every day.

Not better than someone else, just better than you were yesterday.

Always being kind to people, being honest and truthful.

Where did that come from, that need to ensure that you're meeting that marker?

I think it came from my upbringing.

I grew up on a farm and my mom and dad were great examples to me.

They were very strict.

There were four girls and one boy and none of us drank or got drunk or, you know, we didn't sneak out of the house.

We didn't do any of that stuff.

So I think they set good values for us.

My dad was a farmer and a businessman.

He taught me a lot of about how to do business just by watching him.

And then when I became a CEO in healthcare, I brought a lot of those qualities with me.

Being part of the grassroots has always been your learning, your school, has it?

Yes, and I've always been, you know, one of my other values is honesty, integrity, continuously, because I feel you can learn something every day and there's always more to learn and improve upon and always in service and being the excellent person that you can be, service excellence, serving others.

You know, even when I was a CEO, I didn't look at it as I couldn't do jobs beneath me.

I still did whatever was needed because that's how I grew up and that's how God has blessed me and taught me to be.

What brought you to nursing?

Well, in 1973, when I was in eighth grade, my dad as a farmer, he had an accident.

He was in a Jeep that had been converted into a machine to dust the grapes.

And he had built one himself and it was fine, but he bought this one and he hadn't used it yet.

He bought it.

It was a used one.

And he was driving home one night and on the side road next to our house, the steering mechanism went out on it.

It threw him 30 feet in the air.

He came down on some metal, but he had a beekeepers, old fashioned beekeepers helmet on and he landed on that and in the ditch.

And luckily it wasn't full of water and people coming home from a wedding rehearsal late at night, about one in the morning, happened to hear somebody.

They had their window open.

They heard somebody moaning.

They called 9-1-1 and they found my dad.

So long story short, he said that he would never have recovered as well as he did if it hadn't been for the nurses.

He was told he couldn't walk again.

He would.

And he did.

He walked, he outlived three of the doctors.

I love that fun fact.

He outlived three of the doctors.

So of your siblings, where are you?

Are you first, second, third?

I'm fourth.

Did anyone else become a nurse?

No, two teachers and a one kind of a CPA accounting major.

Very interesting.

So how did you come to meet Jesus?

Well, I grew up going to church, right?

It was more ritualistic.

Like it's when to make the cross, when to stand up, when to sit down, what to say.

And I knew there had to be more to it than that.

So when I was out of my own at 26, I went to church one day and I prayed and I said, God, I want a relationship with you.

I know there's more to church than just going to church.

And on that day, when I was 26, that's why this comes to fruition.

Now we're in 2026.

I did have a relationship with God from that day forward.

And He been and worked so many miracles in my life.

I just love that relationship.

I can talk to every day, pray with him every day.

I can take community at home.

If I want to me, it's not just about the church.

It's about mostly the relationship with him.

Understanding what love is today for the person who's listening, who may think their situation is hopeless.

What would you suggest they do as step one?

I think the first thing is to communicate with that person, to find out how they're actually feeling, how you feel, let them know how you feel.

I think every situation is different.

My situation was I could have stayed in that marriage forever and been a companion, but that wouldn't have been fair to me.

And it really already wasn't that way, because it's not just about a roommate.

It's going through things with that person and that person loving every part of you, the good parts of you, the bad parts of you, the crust, like my husband says, and the pie, everything.

Because it's when you love that person, when you have that kind of love, you can go through anything together, whether it's good or bad.

We've gone through deaths in the family.

We've gone through having, I had a six-figure income to a nothing.

Right now, even, we're in that storm.

But that's okay, because I know God's going to make a way.

But when you love a person like that, you don't have the fear that they're going to leave, or them have the fear that you're going to leave.

It's about making it work.

If you love that person at the beginning, then you should look back and find out what you loved at the beginning.

What was in my situation, it was different.

The person had a whole other life.

It was betrayal.

And it was really from the beginning.

So that wasn't really fair to me, because I had no experience with relationships at that time.

Five years from today, you're listening to this conversation.

What's a message you'd leave for future, Judy?

Have your relationship with God, first and foremost, number one.

Believe in your ideas and what you hope to do, and take action to make those things happen.

And you do, part of it does have to be resting and let God unfold some things for you.

But it's not all of it.

We do have to take some steps.

And just be open to receiving whatever He brings you.

Because I received a speaking event, and I didn't even know what I was going to be speaking on, or what type of company I was speaking for.

And it ended up being an agribusiness company a couple of weeks ago.

And I grew up in agribusiness.

So God worked it out perfectly for me.

It was so easy, and it was fun, and it was beautiful.

And then your invitation came.

And you speak to so many, I'm the least of these.

But that's how God works.

Because God brings the least of these to people sometimes.

And that's how I feel, because you've talked to so many highly professional people.

And I feel like I'm not where they are, but I have a lot to offer this world.

I appreciate you passing by.

In closing, is there anything else you'd like to share?

I just thank you for what you're doing.

That also makes a difference in the world.

And you work very hard.

You have to, because I know what it takes to make a video.

And my husband knows what it takes to edit, because he does a lot of that type of stuff.

And I appreciate you, and say you're doing an awesome job.

And everybody should clap for you, because you're an awesome person.

Well, thank you very much.

Again, amazing audience, Judy.

You can go to the show notes and find out more.

There's no way I could cover everything that she's done in her life.

Yeah, but you can go there.

Click to find out more.

Judy, this is a pleasure.

I treasure.

Thank you for being what has inspired my 12-Minute Converse.