THE WOMAN

Julie was born in Washington D.C., and raised in the great state of Virginia!   She currently resides in Fairfax County.  Her parents were high school sweethearts and are quickly approaching their 50 year wedding anniversary!  Julie is 38 years old,  an only child, vegan, currently single, has no children, and has always been involved in multiple sporting activities including competitive, gymnastics, horseback riding, swimming, and tennis.  In her spare time she thoroughly enjoys writing poetry, playing the piano, attending various lectures through the Smithsonian, studying astrobiology for fun, and practicing the acrobatic arts.

Julie graduated from Marymount  University located in Arlington, Virginia, with a Bachelor of Arts  Degree. While in college she was an exchange student at the University  of Central Queensland, Australia through the University of Long Island,  South Hampton College, studying tropical marine ecology on the Great  Barrier Reef. Her second exchange program was through Michigan  University where she backpacked through six European countries, studying  art history. Julie was a straight "A" student and member of  Beta-Psi/Alpha Phi Sigma and Psi-Chi National Honor Societies. She was  an ambassador for Marymount University and presented a Leadership Award  for establishing their collegiate cheerleading program. Her scholastic  achievements warranted her the Presidential Academic Fitness Award for  outstanding academic achievement signed by President Bill Clinton. She  was accepted and attended the Institute for the Arts, studying music,  dance, drama, Broadway stage makeup/special effects, and sculpting.   Julie was awarded the Outstanding Recent Graduate Award by Marymount  University in recognition of her professional accomplishments and  humanitarian contributions.  

For the past 15 years she  has followed her passion, and love for dance as a Professional Ballroom  Instructor and Choreographer in the Washington D.C. Metropolitan area.  She was certified by the World Professional Dance Teachers Association  in American Smooth & American Rhythm. Julie quickly acquired many  Top Instructor awards including one at a world event; Overall Most  Entries Danced as an Instructor at a major competition (male or female);  numerous Top Student Awards; multiple choreography awards, and 1st  Place award in sales worldwide. She was a selected Professional to  choreograph a swing routine with a selected "non" dancer from the  public, to compete in the Washington Auto Shows' Dancing for Toyota's.  Julie danced in the Pre-Show of the touring production for Dancing with  the Stars. She is an invited member of the National Museum of Women in the Arts and National Association of Professional Women. 

Julie is the Owner and Co-Founder of Encore Ballroom Couture, the leading consignment and  consignment rental company in the ballroom industry. She considers  herself a Dress Broker, turning her clients’ dresses into cash! Julie is  also a celebrity stylist, focusing on special events, television  appearances, premieres, and award shows. She feels fortunate to work  side by side with her Mother who is the Co-Founder and Director of  Merchandising & Finance. Encore Ballroom Couture has an EXCLUSIVE  affiliation with Randall Designs as their distributor for the distinct  Randall Christensen dresses designed specifically for ABC's "Hit" TV  Series Dancing with the Stars. These dresses are the authentic dresses  that warranted Randall with a Primetime Emmy® award for costume design!   She is very proud of her company being fur and leather free! 

To learn more about Encore Ballroom Couture, please see:  EncoreBallroomCouture.com

Julie is the Owner and Co-Founder of The Dress Spa, a specialty cleaning service for ballroom dresses.  The Dress Spa primarily works with stretch fabrics, lace, embellishments, crystals, sequins, and couture costuming.  All the products have been created by Julie and her Mother.  The products are proudly vegan, hypoallergenic, gluten-free, nut-free,  soy-free, glycol ether-free, no artificial colors or dyes,  fragrance-free, phosphate-free, Kosher (Certified by the Orthodox  Union), 100% biodegradable, not tested on animals, septic safe, and  made in the USA.  Once the garment has been hand cleaned, all embellishments are inspected.  Designers from all over the world ship to The Dress Spa for cleaning services.  

To view a complete list of services, please see: TheDressSpa.com

Hairpins to Hemlines is the first of it's kind in the ballroom dance industry.  It is an editorial explaining current mainstream fashion trends, educating dancers on how to select a fashion forward dance wardrobe.  It is produced seasonally, and Julie is the Creative Designer.  She enjoys writing special features on new technologies in the fashion industry, recently focusing on Biocouture, Epidermial Electronics, and Wearables.  Recently she was invited to discuss these technologies with STEM students, and explain what a future in science-based fashion could entail. 

To view the current Trend Report please see:  HairpinstoHemlines.com

Julie has spearheaded a program in partnership with Gold Stars, donating previously loved ballroom costumes that can each range from $500 - $10,000, to an established 501 (c)(3) non-profit program host.  Over $500,000 worth of costumes have been donated.  Gold Stars provides free ballroom dance education to youth from economically challenged families. The students must maintain an approved GPA, and remain in good standing in school (elementary, middle and/or high school).  The students use the donated costumes for special performances, showcase routines, and in competitions that wave entry fees for participants in this program.  The costume donations help improve self confidence, and overall appearance, showing that cost doesn't have to be a limiting factor for those who are willing to work hard in school and love to dance.  

For more information on this great program please see: encoreballroomcouture.com/donate-your-dresses

Based on her extensive  accomplishments, Julie was nominated and selected for the 83rd Joint  Civilian Orientation Conference (JCOC). She was the youngest participate  among top level CEO's, presidents of universities, and industry  leaders.  The Department of Defense awarded the JCOC participates a rank  of 2 Star General.  Julie had a tremendous experience meeting our  military service men and women and learning what life is like for them  on a daily basis.  She heard their insights and concerns, and walked away  with a new appreciation of their sacrifice and bravery.  Something she took away from this experience was our military is made up of volunteers, and that we are still engaged in military combat every minute of every day.  Men and women fighting for our freedom, away from their families, and risking their life, for us, is awe-inspiring to her.  She encourages everyone to help  service men and women in their community any way they can.  Julie  personally has worked with Companions for Heros and Dogs on Deployment.  She is a financial sponsor of The Wounded Warrior  Project. 

Based on her JCOC experiences and wanting to do her part, she  founded the Toppers for Troopers program in April 2013.  The program looks forward to providing more “tools” to the Walter Reed National  Military Medical Center’s “Look Good Feel Better Program.”  This program teaches patients who are suffering from alopecia (loss of hair) either from injury, illness or treatment, how to regain a new self-image. They  use makeup techniques, wigs, hairpieces, scarves and hats to sculpt the  new look and teach individuals to more comfortably live in their new  body. 

For more information on the program, please see: ToppersForTroopers.org 

Every year in Baltimore, MD Julie hosts a community based hat design contest and has for many years now.  It is an annual tradition as part of a two-day outdoor festival called the FlowerMart.  She was notified recently that due to her contributions, she is being awarded the Volunteer of the Year award which will be presented to her on stage during the  2017 event.  FlowerMart at Mt. Vernon, Ltd, is a non-profit 501 (c)(3) organization.  For more information on the FlowerMart, please see:  Flowermart.org

The FlowerMart was previously produced by the Women's Civic League (WCL) of Baltimore, which Julie's Grandmother is a past President.  The WCL promotes beautification of the city, celebrates civility and community.   womenscivicleague.org

Julie has been recognized as a Humane Hero, by The Humane Society of The United States, and is involved with hosting fundraising events for Virginia based animal shelters and organizations.  She looks forward to doing her part in supporting harsher restrictions on puppy mills, and promoting pet adoption over pet shop purchasing. To see how you can help: humanesociety.org

Julie has done extensive work with the only Virginia based political action committee for animals, Humane Dominion.  For more information on where your legislators stand on animal welfare, and what bills are important in the upcoming session.  Please view:  humanedominion.org