Julie Andersen

Julie Andersen General Information

Biography

Ms. Julie Andersen served as President and Board Member at Community Needs. She has been a leader in nonprofit organizations over the past 25 years. Her international career began in the 1980s when she lived in Kenya for two years, working with women's groups on income generating projects. After returning to the US and gaining domestic development experience as a community organizer, she obtained her MS in International Development Studies from Iowa State University, including thesis research in Nicaragua. She was the Executive Director of WCCN from 1994 to 2001, leading the organization through the transition of diversifying its loan fund program from a single to multiple partners in Nicaragua. Her additional experience with Nicaragua includes serving on the Advisory Committee of the Winds of Peace Foundation from 2001-2010, evaluating grant and loan applications for projects there. Julie's career has also encompassed the fields of fair trade, development of community organizers, and domestic violence intervention and prevention. She recently completed a graduate certificate degree in Sustainability Leadership at Edgewood College and is now serving as Program Coordinator for that graduate program as well as serving as Emerging Program Director for an innovative start-up organization, CORE. Her current volunteer activities also include serving on the Access Committee for the Governor's Council on Domestic Abuse and as a Big Sister with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Dane County.