Julia began protecting rivers in 1987, when, as a congressional aide, she initiated a project to gain federal Wild and Scenic River status for the Sudbury, Assabet, and Concord Rivers. During her eight-year tenure leading the Organization for the Assabet River, the group’s efforts resulted in precedent-setting phosphorus limits for the river’s four wastewater treatment facilities. Their work with a major corporate water user resulted in a $1.5M recharge fund for the watershed.
She served as the founding executive director of the Massachusetts Rivers Alliance and led that organization for 16 years, stepping down in January 2026. Mass Rivers’ mission is to improve the health of rivers across the state and to strengthen and connect its nearly 90 member groups. Under her leadership, that group’s notable accomplishments included big increases in the state’s water agency budgets, a multi-plaintiff lawsuit that forced the EPA to implement stormwater controls in Massachusetts, and passage of a sewage public notification law.
Julia has also served on several state advisory committees as well as on the board of River Network, a national river protection organization, based in Colorado. She has been recognized for her contributions to river protection in Massachusetts with awards from the National Park Service, Mass Audubon, Trout Unlimited, the Ipswich River Watershed Association, and the Charles River Watershed Association. She holds a bachelor’s degree in history from Brown and a master’s in Urban and Environmental policy from Tufts.