Woodrow Wilson Foundation

In support of the foundation’s strategic priorities

• Organized a series of exemplary school visits for the foundation President and accompanied him on the trip
• Conducted research and compiled report on the K-12 transformational landscape
• Conducted research and compiled report on new teacher competencies for the Woodrow Wilson Academy

We were in the process of creating a brand-new school of education and Julie was one of the first people to whom I spoke about this initiative. We needed a director for the project and she introduced me to a world of talent. I also wanted to know everything there was to know about teacher competencies - today and in the future - and Julie answered those questions, as well as offering insightful observations regarding how they were likely to change over time. She is one of those people with whom I meet periodically about where the school is going - to get her very gentle and wise feedback. One of the limitations we all have in terms of thinking about change is our prior experience, in many ways, we are walled in by our prior experience. My experience with Julie helped to stretch those limits. Julie is terrific to work with; as well as being creative, she also does something that’s terribly traditional and important - she works on deadlines and makes those deadlines. She is creative, smart and dependable - it ain’t a bad combination. I think she is a national resource - I know no one else like her. - Arthur Levine, President, Woodrow Wilson Foundation

NARA HJARTAT, Sweden and USA

Leading Edge Assessment Practices

• Conducted research, interviewed thought leaders and wrote report on ‘Assessing the Learning that Matters Most’
• Presented findings at SNS Stockholm
• Built an open-source database of assessment practices, designed by and for educators

We engaged Julie to identify and assess schools that were grappling with social and emotional learning and assessment. Julie came to Stockholm to present her findings, and because of those findings, she created an open-source database that categorizes these innovative assessment practices in different schools across the US. The database makes it easier for teachers, administrators and policy makers to search for inspiration and share best practice within this field. Julie is both smart and warm - she has a clear vision and knows how to get results. She is a great collaborator who can incorporate different kinds of perspectives into the process. She was able to take our ideas and draft a plan that fit our needs and area of interest. We would never have gotten these insights if it weren’t for our partnership. - Lina Von Post, CEO, Nara Hjartat, Sweden and USA

Next High School

Advisor and support to the CEO as he launched a new model of High School in Greenville, SC

• Accompanied CEO on school visits as he drafted the vision for the school
• Presented at introductory community event, providing context to the new school model
• Designed and facilitated founding faculty summer retreat
• Ongoing advisory with the CEO

There are not a lot of folks out there who are cut from the cloth that Julie is - people who can discuss what is happening with public education, challenge things at a conceptual level, and dig into the bigger question of “why”. She is willing to disagree with folks who were being philosophically inconsistent - and does so in a way that furthers the discussion. Her biggest impression upon our school’s DNA was challenging the “batch processing paradigm.” Her encouragement had us think that there is a big difference between student centered and human centered. This has gone deep into our processes - we will never treat our kids as students, we treat them as humans. That’s her legacy at Next High School. On a personal level, leading this kind of change is challenging. Julie was my cheerleader and she let me know that pioneers get beat up the way I was getting beat up. It was helpful. Her work fits in organizations that are self-aware and conscious - for an organization that wants to maximize the work she does, they must be willing to address things about themselves that might make them uncomfortable. Her work will do best with a blank canvas - the more blank the canvas the more color she can paint. - Zach Eikenberry, Founding CEO, Next High School