Youth Represent partners with young people navigating the criminal legal system to protect their rights, remove barriers, and build pathways to opportunity. Through direct legal services, policy advocacy, and peer education, we work alongside Black, Latiné, Indigenous, and other youth of color to challenge injustice and expand access to housing, employment, and education.
We envision a world where young people are not defined by their records, and where all youth have the freedom and power to live their full lives.
A seasoned leader in youth advocacy, Julia brings over two decades of experience in management, policy, litigation, campaigns and collaborative research.
Before joining Youth Represent, Julia spent nearly 8 years as the Director of Youth Justice and Child Welfare at the Children’s Defense Fund-New York, working at the intersection of well-being and racial justice in partnership with youth and families. This included developing the first unconditional guaranteed income pilot for young adults who recently left foster care, co-created with young people with lived experience in the system, and supported through partnerships with philanthropy and City government. She also led the successful campaign to raise the lower age of family court delinquency prosecution in New York State from age 7 to 12, passing one of the most protective laws in the U.S. to date.
Throughout her career, Julia has remained committed to participatory policymaking and partnerships with young people. Her work has included civil rights litigation at Children’s Rights, as well as HIV/AIDS and sexual health public health campaigns at KFF. In 2022, she was recognized with the New York City Bar Justice Center Award for her decade of immigration representation through the City Bar Justice Center’s Immigrant Justice Project. More recently, she worked with partners at The Door and Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel LLP on an amicus brief to secure the release of a New York City teenager held in immigration detention.
She brings deep expertise in the field, a strong record of cross-sector collaboration, and a commitment to supporting interdisciplinary teams to her leadership of Youth Represent.
Julia holds a J.D. from Cardozo School of Law and an A.B. in Biology and Community Health from Brown University. She lives with her family in Brooklyn, New York.
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Learn more about Youth Represent’s core areas of work, including legal services, strategic litigation, and policy advocacy. Through these efforts, we partner with young people to protect their rights, remove barriers, and expand access to opportunity.
