Her Story
About Julie
I've been working in the not-for-profit service dog field for 10 years - it'll be 10 years in March. As the facilities manager, I'm responsible for grounds, vehicles, and buildings across 6 buildings between 2 campuses. I take care of all the work orders that come in, basically anything that breaks. We have 18 HVAC units that need to be up and running at all times. I also serve as the on-site IT person, maintaining all the computers and troubleshooting issues on property. We do have an outside company that we use, but it's easier if I can solve it in 5 seconds versus making a phone call to the IT company because someone's dog stepped on the power cord. In addition to that, I'm in charge of the phone systems and the overall operations of the facility. We've been doing renovations and new construction for the last 7 years, so that's taken up a lot of my time. We've converted our phone systems and upgraded all of our IT. Looking ahead, I'd really like to combine my job with a little bit more of the dog-client interaction and learn more about the training process. I really enjoy what I do, and people laugh when I say that, but when things break, I'm a good responder. We get hit by lightning, we get floods, we get fires, but I'm able to organize all these projects in my head and just kind of take them in stride.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Julie
01What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I just want other women to know that this is not a man's world. It's not a man's profession. Occasionally, I will get a subcontractor in the new construction that when I walk in and the people that know me say, oh, you know, be careful, the boss is here, and they kind of look at me funny. You know, and then once we start having conversations, they understand that, yes, I do know what I'm doing. There's still some of that, because it's a lot of the old school. We don't have a lot of people that are in these trades anymore, so a lot of them are a little bit older, just so to see a woman of my age and be in the position that I'm in. I think it's important that other people realize, you know, just do it, just jump in, and don't - I just kind of laugh it off, don't be offended by it, just understand where it's coming from, and stand your ground, stand on your own two feet.
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