Julie was born in Detroit but lovingly considers Traverse City her hometown. She is committed to doing meaningful work and advancing projects that improve quality of life opportunities and foster community. Julie earned both her B.A. and M.A. from The University of Michigan, where she developed her writing voice, critical thinking skills, and passion for social issues.
Julie’s varied and meandering career path is reflective of her curious and risk-tolerant personality. Resume highlights include land use policy specialist, community center coordinator, public educator, Covid homeschool mom, ski instructor, community garden coordinator, flower farmer, and Head Start administrator, to name a few.
A managing partner at HKM & Associates, she supports non-profit, private, and public sector clients with development, communications, strategy, research, and grant writing. Julie loves the unique challenges inherent in grant writing. “With grant writing, I offer a translation service. I take the client’s vision and synthesize it appropriately for a specific audience. It’s storytelling, but with a word limit, measurable outcomes, timeline, and a budget,” she shares.
Julie loves spending time with her husband, Tony, and two school-aged children. She is an obsessive USTA tennis player, voracious reader, and lover of big ideas and engaging conversations. Julie always welcomes an opportunity to brainstorm solutions, talk strategy, or ponder the meaning of life; unless, of course, she’s on deadline.
Good Works Lab 