Julia, a native Texan, started diving in 1995. She received her B.A. in biology from St. Olaf College in 1997, and is pursuing her Ph.D. at the University of Rhode Island focusing on the management of marine reserves and coral diseases. She was an analyst for NOAA from 2001-2003, developing a U.S. Marine Managed Areas (MMA) Inventory report for the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy. She served as a research assistant at the Utila Ecology Center in 2007, was the natural resource management coordinator at the Watch Hill Conservancy in Rhode Island 2007-2010, and has volunteered for the Day to Day Management Unit of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park in Australia and a Biodiversity Study in Fiji. Julia is currently a marine resource habitat specialist at the NOAA Restoration Center where she manages federal restoration awards for the Community-Based Restoration Program, the Estuary Habitat Restoration Program, and the Damage Assessment Remediation and Restoration Program. She is also engaged in the development of restoration priorities and the development of the coral strategy.