Originally from the Northeast, Julie has now called Oregon home for most of her adult life. She has a Bachelor’s degree in geology, and she taught high school earth science, physics, and dance in Manhattan before discovering—and escaping to—the Northwest, where she earned a Master’s degree in environmental studies. Julie has instructed field courses for NOLS since 2001. She has also: danced for 15 years in a company that brought African dance and drumming to elementary schools; been charmed by Brian Doyle’s books; worked as the sidekick to a writer much more accomplished and practiced than she (he wrote Arctic Dreams; go read it!); and climbed 40 mountains in one year.