Born and raised in Seattle, Julie started working in radio at age 14 doing on-air hosting, marketing, promotions and music at a commercial Hip-Hop station and a College Radio station simultaneously (during the peak of the grunge movement). Julie’s talent for new music discovery shaped her career of programming some of the most influential multi-format radio stations in the world.
In 2002, Julie was recruited to move to Los Angeles to be the Assistant Program Director and Music Director at KIIS FM. Over the next decade she grew at iHeart, launched new stations, hosted a weekly livestream new music show, and became an industry leader around tech’s impact on the future of music.
As a result of her unique skill set combining music knowledge, culture, and artist relationships, in 2013, Julie was recruited by Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre to be Head of Music at Beats Music. Julie didn’t blink at the opportunity to work with the ‘Defiant Ones’. Beats was later bought by Apple in 2014. In service to Beats’ Creative Director Trent Reznor’s vision to create a fully integrated radio station and streaming service, Julie had the privilege to build a team and launch Beats 1, the first world-wide radio station broadcasting live from LA, NYC & LDN 24/7 on Apple Music.
-Amy Blackman, Founder, Fruition Co.
Fun fact about Julie: After attending college at The University of Washington and Arizona State, Julie put academics on hold after her junior year to follow her radio career’s momentum. In 2018, Julie realized she missed learning, was not a quitter, and decided to finish her senior year at ASU, studying Communications while working full time at Apple. Julie graduated (with honors) from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, with a BA in Communications.
