Her involvements in the public and private sectors have led her to receive honorary degrees from eight Canadian universities and a community college.

This council was established in 1963 with the main objective of creating a census to achieve social and economic goals via long-term and medium-term planning.

[4]  Doctor Sylvia Ostry and Judith Maxwell were the two women who were separately appointed to serve for seven years each as chair of the council.

Maxwell's role as the chief executive officer meant she had to supervise and direct the work and staff of the council.

Her work here involved inviting provincial and federal officials, community leaders, and academics from a wide spectrum of disciplines—gathering them around the same table to encourage better policy making in response to the needs of citizens.

She proved to be "cogent and persuasive -- and an intellectual leader of remarkable vision," according to Arthur Kroeger, who chaired the CPRN board.

[5] She was a co-founder of this community organization, encouraging residents of Ottawa to learn how to implement change in their own community—by giving them the skills to solve problems at the local level across the city.