Locally Raised, Globally Experienced: Julia grew up in Seattle, the Black and bi-racial daughter of two public school educators who instilled in her the importance of public service, empathy, hard work, and collective action. She attended Summit K-12 and later Holy Names Academy (Julia was honored to be the 2021 Holy Names commencement speaker).
Following college, Julia served in the Obama administration, working at home and abroad with the State Department and the Office of Management and Budget. After returning to Seattle, she served as a senior policy advisor to the Mayor of Seattle, with a focus on workforce development issues.
Today she consults with businesses and nonprofits on economic development, workforce training, and college access initiatives, and continues her commitment to developing the skilled workforce our region needs, always with a focus on lifting underrepresented communities, and providing pathways for youth.
Julia lives in the Lower Queen Anne/Uptown neighborhood with her boyfriend, Kinsley and their cat, Ernie. Julia can usually be seen exploring the City on her electric bike — a mobility tool that she would like to see made more affordable for all Washingtonians. She organized Let Uptown Vote, a successful effort to engage King County Elections on bringing a ballot box in Lower Queen Anne.
Inspired by her parents’ example, Julia has focused her professional life on public service. In her professional public policy and social impact work, her volunteer commitment supporting youth and young adults in foster care, or her political advocacy with the 36th LD Democrats and the Truman National Security Project, Julia tries to work every day to build the more just, prosperous, and equitable world that every community deserves.
After nearly two decades of public service at the federal, state, and local level, Julia knows what it takes to lead – not just on the stump but after the campaign is over. She is committed to serving the 36th with integrity, dedication, and pride.
Serving as 36th LD State Representative
In 2022, Julia decided to run for the State House of Representatives. She was especially motivated by witnessing the struggles of her fellow millennials — people in their 30s and 40s trying to decide if they could make long-term lives in Washington State, squeezed by the high cost of housing, childcare, and education; wages that didn’t keep up with inflation; growing responsibility for caring for aging family members; and ongoing environmental challenges. Julia knew there was more that the state could do to help, and she wanted to be part of the solution. She was elected to the Washington State House of Representatives in November 2022, becoming the first person of color to represent the 36th Legislative District
In the legislature, Julia serves on the Housing committee and the Capital Budget committee, and is vice chair of the Postsecondary Education and Workforce Development committee. She was also elected by her caucus to be an Assistant Majority Whip. She hopes to be re-elected to a second term in November 2024.
In the legislature, her primary focus is on postsecondary education access, housing and inclusionary urban zoning, and supporting the arts and the creative economy. A former member of the Seattle Sea Scouts, Julia is the founder and chair of the Democratic Maritime Caucus, and works hard to uplift the needs of Washington’s maritime industries.
In all of these areas, she prioritizes policy solutions that address the needs of communities of color, women, and youth and young adults.
Getting her start in the Obama administration: Julia served in the Obama administration at the State Department, working for George Mitchell, the Special Envoy for Middle East Peace, trying to bring resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. She also worked in the Political Military Affairs Bureau and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), promoting a more transparent, efficient, and effective government. While at OMB, her office helped lead the response to government-wide cybersecurity breaches, which taught her the importance of securing critical public systems in the digital age.
Workforce development-focused City policy advisor: After returning to Seattle in 2017, Julia began working as a senior policy advisor in the Mayor’s office, with a wide portfolio that included workforce development, youth employment, public safety, transit, and arts and culture policy.
She helped create a community college internship pipeline for Seattle Promise scholars, connecting them to job opportunities with some of the City’s leading employers. She also led a redesign of the City’s youth employment system and worked on the reform of the Workforce Development Council.
In the face of rising dangers from climate change and seasonal wildfire smoke, Julia worked to support clean air shelters in the City and created the first ever four-county Wildfire Smoke Preparedness Day with leaders from King, Pierce, Snohomish, and Kitsap county.
Bringing business, philanthropy, nonprofit, and government together to build equitable communities through social impact: In January 2020, Julia left City government to join startup social impact consulting firm Kinetic West, a firm focused on bringing together stakeholders across the nonprofit, private, and public sectors to build just, equitable, and prosperous communities.
As a Consulting Manager, Julia provides strategic planning, program design, technical assistance, and project management services to nonprofits, philanthropies, government agencies, and private sector clients. An example of her work was leading the project to create the State of Innovation Challenge, a statewide career connected learning innovation and design challenge aimed at supporting teachers and students learning virtually during the pandemic.
Community volunteer: Julia served as a volunteer board member and advocacy chair for the YMCA Social Impact Center, a branch of the Y that supports youth and young adults with wraparound services including shelter, counseling, employment training, and educational support, as well as counseling services and suicide prevention for all ages.
The Social Impact Center is the largest provider of housing to young adults in King County and is especially known for its work with young adults in foster care and exiting foster care.
Julia also serves on the board of the Global Leadership Forum, a nonprofit training program for social purpose leaders, and she is a member of the Holy Names Alumnae Board.
Political volunteer: A lifelong Democrat, some of Julia’s earliest memories are going with her parents to vote at the Maple Leaf Lutheran Church basement. Julia is the current chair of the 36th LD Democrats, and was previously the 36th LD’s Policy Director. From 2018-2020, Julia was the vice chair of communications for the King County Democrats.
In addition to local political work, Julia is a Political Partner in the Truman National Security Project, a national membership organization of current and former national security professionals dedicated to developing timely, innovative, and principled solutions to preserve and expand democracy, human rights, prosperity, and security around the world.
A legacy of service, a legacy in Washington State: On her mother’s side, Julia is a fourth-generation Washingtonian, whose great grandmother immigrated to Washington state from Ireland, arriving just before the Great Seattle Fire. Her grandfather, George Grant attended WSU during the Great Depression, and helped build the Grand Coulee Dam. He ultimately established himself as a general contractor and civically minded businessman in Pasco, WA. He was a supporter of many civic causes and the builder of St. Patrick’s Church in Pasco. His belief that the purpose of private sector success was to increase your ability to give back to your family and your community were foundational in shaping Julia’s own worldview.
On her father’s side, Julia is the proud descendant of survivors of slavery, who fought against systemic oppression to establish lives of dignity, purpose, and hope. Her family roots are in Tuskegee, Alabama, but after World War II her grandparents joined the Great Migration to settle in Dayton, Ohio. Julia’s grandfather served overseas in a segregated military in World War II and later was a postal worker and postmaster in the U.S. Postal Service. Her Grandma Pearl, a descendant of slaves, lived to see both her children earn doctorate degrees, and to see Julia graduate with a Master’s degree from Princeton. Her grandparents’ dedication to service, faith, and perseverance has inspired Julia all of her life.
Julia’s parents came to Seattle in the early 80s seeking a welcoming community where their bi-racial family could grow in safety. They raised their family at Our Lady of the Lake Catholic Church, where Julia embraced the church’s teachings on service and social justice. Julia’s father, Eddie Reed, was a career-long Seattle Public Schools teacher and principal, especially known for his work at Cleveland High School and Washington Middle School. Julia’s mother, Beverly Grant Reed, was an occupational therapist in the Shoreline School District, and later a special education administrator in the Edmonds school district, specializing in the needs of children with autism. Julia is the youngest of three children, including her sister, Elizabeth, and brother, Marcus. Julia is the proud aunt to Elizabeth’s three sons.
Julia’s father Eddie is an artist and the former board president of COCA. Eddie and Beverly also ran an art magazine out of their Seattle basement in the 80s and 90s. Julia was the recipient of a strong arts education from her public school, something that she credits with having an enormous impact on her life. Though her amateur acting days are behind her, Julia is a strong supporter of the arts and the creative economy, and the power of art to transform and uplift communities.