Meet Julie

I come from a family of talkers and storytellers, and I’m no exception. My parents were both writers and journalists and I’ve followed a similar path. My favorite part of being a journalist is talking to every day people about their lives. I’ve worked in radio, print and on the web. Multimedia storytelling is my current interest.

There was always animated conversation at the dinner table when I was growing up. My grandmother would cook Friday night dinners each week and carry them in shopping bags on the subway from the Bronx to our apartment in Brooklyn. Those meals were full of discussion, good food and a real sense of appreciation for one another. I look forward to recreating those kinds of rituals for my own family.

When I was younger, I lived in Nicaragua for several years, where I learned to speak fluent Spanish, reporting on the war there in the late 1980’s. I made lasting friendships and learned to negotiate daily life in a different culture. I make delicious “gallo pinto” (beans and rice) and can hold my own on the dance floor. There were times when living in a country at war was not easy, but I wouldn’t trade those experiences for anything in the world!

Having lived abroad is a deep bond that Ruth and I share. We both speak a second language (I speak Spanish and Ruth speaks German) and look forward to sharing our sense of belonging to many cultures with our child.

Ruth talks about Julie

“Julie is a loving person, with deep empathy and compassion. She has an irreverent wit that comes from her Brooklyn upbringing, but she doesn’t take herself too seriously.”