Meet Jude, the inspiration behind the Sister Sister x Jude Maboné, Miss District of Columbia Collaboration
Jude is a six-time heart attack survivor. As a student-athlete, she experienced her first attack during a six-mile run at only 16 years old. She then suffered five more in quick succession by the time she was 18. After she was diagnosed with heart disease, Jude created a bucket list that included winning a pageant after watching the movie Miss Congeniality. Crowned Miss District of Columbia in 2023, she’s now using her platform to raise heart health awareness.
Her journey to Miss DC is a story of hardship and perseverance. After aging out of the Miss DC competition after six failed attempts, Jude thought her shot to take home the crown was over. However, new pageant leadership increased the age limit to 28 and announced a partnership with the American Heart Association. It felt like fate and an authentic platform for Jude to try once again for the crown. The rest is history.
Jude spends her time bettering her community. Since her diagnosis of heart disease, she started the initiative Check Your Heart, which advocates for preemptive heart heath, provides access to CPR/AED education and raises money for medical research. She is also a small business owner, and an active member of the DC community serving with the American Heart Association, the Honor Flight Network, MedStar Health, and a variety of other organizations in the District.
In her free time, Jude enjoys pampering her dog, Waffle, and running through Rock Creek Park. Jude is excited for her next chapter as she will be heading to business school this fall to pursue her MBA thanks to Management Leadership for Tomorrow.
More about our collaboration
I am thrilled to partner with Jude to create The Jude heartbeat ring arriving just in time to celebrate Heart Health month. The Jude is designed as a healthy heartbeat to raise awareness of heart disease and to celebrate heart attack survivors. For each ring sold, 20% of sales will go to Simon’s Heart, a non-profit with a mission to prevent sudden cardiac arrest and death in children, teens, and young adults.
