Julie draws from a creative background in the world of theatre and dance along with extensive experience in leadership development and adult education in her work as a leadership and systemic team coach. She has consulted to and coached in multiple organizations across North America, (including the Canadian Department of National Defense, BC Government, Harvard and Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics, and Brigham Young University), building capacity for learning and systemic leadership.  She spent several years working in both higher education and health care before joining the University of British Columbia (UBC) as the Director of Human Resources, where she was instrumental in the creation of internationally recognized, award winning programs in coaching and leadership development. Formerly on faculty in the Masters in Organizational Psychology program at Adler University, Julie is a faculty member and certified Mentor coach in the UBC Certificate in Organizational Coaching program, in addition to being a coaching Supervisor and member of  the GTCI systemic team coaching faculty (coaching.com). She is a Global Associate with Renewal Associates, a Consulting Partner with the Corporation for Positive Change,  and co-founder of the Canadian Centre for Positive Change.  

Julie’s doctoral research examined the role of metaphor in leadership development and organizational change in higher education.  In addition to her dissertation in Educational Leadership, publications include Coaching Frameworks for Behaviour and Change, 2014 and a contribution to Organizational Aesthetics, Routledge, 2006. Over the years, she has continued to build her research interests in organizational leadership, learning, consciousness and change, examining the complex interrelationship between these aspects of organizational life. Her work in these areas attempts to link ‘theory’ and ‘practice’ to create a real (and realistic) learning community. Most recently, her research has focused on aspects of Positive Organizational Scholarship and Social Architecture (building learning communities, vertical leadership capacity and appreciative space).