Julie earned a master’s degree in speech pathology from Michigan State University in 1996 and an ASHA board certification the following year. During school and after certification, Julie provided speech language therapy in hospitals and skilled nursing facilities to adults with damaged throat, esophagus or vocal cords, and cognitive therapy to patients suffering from brain injuries or stroke. She also worked to evaluate and rehabilitate clients with swallowing disorders through the use of fiber optic endoscopy (FEES).  

In 1998, after a move to California, Julie joined the staff of The Spectrum Center, a non-public school for children with severe behavioral and communication disorders. Responsible for the screening, evaluation and treatment of children with moderate to severe autism, her role was to improve the opportunity of each child to return to the public school system. She participated in countless IEP meetings and worked with district representatives to lobby for an appropriate quantity and quality of service. 

Recognized for her work in 2000 and 2001, the California Deaf Blind Services chose Julie to lead training sessions on best practices for communication with the deaf and blind. 

At Spectrum, Julie emphasized collaboration between all communicative environments. She helped create teams of teachers, staff members and therapists to incorporate communications goals into daily activities. This model was adopted across the five Bay Area Spectrum campuses, and credited for helping to improve the carryover of skills to new environments. 

On the client side, Julie created individualized communication systems for each of her students and worked with parents to incorporate these methods at home. The realization that communication skills must be generalized across environments in order to achieve long term achievement lead Julie to launch Communication Bridge Therapies in 2004.

Currently, Julie works with Bay Area children ages 2 and up, in homes, preschools or private schools. She evaluates and treats students while collaborating with their teachers and parents to provide comprehensive services. Julie sees students in both individual and group settings, and has a client list that includes students with: apraxia of speech, autism, weaknesses in executive functioning and working memory, organizational skills, dyslexia, expressive and receptive language deficits, articulation disorders, Asperger's syndrome and auditory/language processing issues.