The sixth of seven children, Julie was born on the San Carlos Apache reservation in Arizona and raised in the borderlands of south Texas. Her mom, Gloria, was an elementary school teacher and her dad, Mario, was a rancher. Together, they taught Julie the value of hard work, honesty, and the importance of lifting as we climb. Julie’s organizing career began while a student at Yale University. In 2005, she organized a 58-member coalition of working-class families, unions, community organizations, and environmental activists to ensure that tax dollars were spent on affordable housing, a clean environment, and jobs that paid a living wage.
There are many ways to ensure that individuals who commit crimes can repair the harm done to society, and locking someone up in a cell is rarely the most effective. Julie has focused her criminal legal reform efforts to:
Repeal the death penalty in Colorado
Re-write Colorado’s misdemeanor code and sentencing guidelines to be more just and humane
Strengthen the rights of children, immigrants, renters, and people with intellectual disabilities in court