Julie was nominated by her peers for being an outstanding leader and role model within the Deaf community. Her drive in spreading awareness about domestic and sexual violence against Deaf women and their children is evident through her involvement and implementation of a non-profit organization called DeafHope
Julie, along with 7 others, founded DeafHope in 2003 with a goal of ending domestic and sexual violence against Deaf women and children through empowerment, education and services. This small group's vision began with meetings at various coffee shops and homes - each member volunteering their time and resources. With determination and hard work, DeafHope grew to become a fully functioning agency in Oakland with paid staff and an abundance of community support. Julie served as Executive Director of DeafHope from 2003-2011 and continues to participate as a board member. In addition, Julie launched the "Lavender Revolution," a social media movement to end violence against women.
In 2007, Julie won Humanitarian of the Year award from eWomenNetwork and was a finalist for the CNN Hero of the Year Award. She was initiated into the Alameda County Women's Hall of Fame in 2011. Currently, she works in the Outreach Division at the California School for the Deaf in Fremont.
Julie has been described as "a beacon of hope" and as having "vision and passion". She sees the best qualities in everyone - whether hearing or Deaf, and works hard to bring people together to accomplish mutual goals. We commend Julie for all her accomplishments and are honored to present her with the Hamilton Relay 2011 Deaf Community Leader Award.
This leadership recognition has been brought to you by Hamilton Relay.
About Hamilton Relay
Hamilton Relay offers a variety of services including Telecommunications Relay Services, Captioned Telephone and Internet Relay services. Hamilton provides Telecommunications Relay and/or Captioned Telephone services to 17 states, the District of Columbia, the Island of Saipan and the Virgin Islands. More information is available at hamiltonrelay.com.