julia’s journey
I was shy and sensitive as a child.
I remember hiding behind my mom’s dress at my own birthday party when it was time to blow out the candles on the cake. Knobby-kneed, bespectacled and self conscious, I preferred reading and writing to group activities. I had frizzy hair, no sense of style and sucked at sports. I had divorced parents and my dad was gay (before gay was cool) and we were Jews and it was Texas and, well… I felt like an outsider.
My awkward childhood gave me superpowers.
In my constant struggle to belong at school and understand what was happening around me at home, I became an astute observer of people and situations. I was guided by a curious mind, an empathetic heart, and a rich inner world that swirled with creativity. I kept a journal to reassure myself that I existed, explore my dreams, and express my feelings. To this day, my journal is my closest sidekick.
Writing and theater helped me find my voice.
At the suggestion of a therapist, my parents put me in theater and I started learning how to express myself in the vocal, physical and interactive realms. The stage became a place to participate in the world and collaborate with other sensitive people. Theater taught me the arts of listening, speaking, presence, intentionality and teamwork. As I stumbled my way through adolescence, I began to thrive. A passion for storytelling led me to study communications at American University in Washington, DC and film in Prague, Czech Republic. At age 22, I found myself working as a film editor and voice actor in New York City, where I experienced the workplace as an insufferable experience to be avoided at all costs. Little did I know at the time, this distaste for the workplace would drive me towards a calling to make it more meaningful.
Yoga and meditation helped me heal a broken heart.
I started practicing yoga, breathwork and meditation in 2007 when I was devastated by the death of my father’s life partner, Mitchell, who was very dear to me. Filled with grief and desperate for inner peace, I turned to this thing I’d heard of called yoga. What I discovered was a powerful journey of personal healing and spiritual awakening that extended far beyond my broken heart and continues today. I have devoted myself to exploring, refining and teaching these practices ever since.
Community emerged as my greatest passion.
Driven by a longtime dream to live on a kibbutz in Israel, I fled NYC to immerse myself in a more communal, earthy atmosphere. I envisioned myself tilling the land on a farm with other idealists, but of course life is a trickster, so I found myself stacking toilet seats in a plastics factory instead. Still, the simplicity and togetherness I experienced living on Kibbutz Ma’agan Michael filled my soul with joy and wonder. I realized that community was at the center of my bliss; that community is what matters most to me in life - the simple yet ineffable power of human connection, tended with love and intentionality. This passion led me to forge a unique career path as a culture and community architect across industries, from startups to nonprofits to tech companies to financial institutions. It also led me to create The Rainbow Letters, a digital platform that amplifies the voices of people with LGBTQIA parents through the art of letter writing. I love creating community in unsuspecting places. Human connection is everywhere! We just need to nurture it.
My journey is rooted in intuition, growth and transformation.
My way has always been to follow what feels alive, what calls my soul forward. That inner knowingness is my compass and I’m often unclear about where it’s leading me, but I’ve learned that I can trust it, even when I’m anxious, uncertain and scared. I understand that change is the one thing we can be certain about, and so I embrace the inevitability of change as a path for growth and transformation. I aspire to be truly “at home” in the wild, mysterious process of being human, and I support others to do the same.
I am here to serve as a guide for deeper human connection.
My purpose in this life is to help individuals and communities attune to what is most alive for them and bring us together in soulful ways so that we can celebrate our aliveness together.
