About Julie
Julie’s professional career began in the early 90s in the field of social work. She always had a strong desire to work with people as they navigated through life and its various challenges. Eventually, after certifying as a birth and postpartum doula (DONA International), Julie founded Mother Nurture Childbirth Services in 1998, assisting couples through the childbirth experience and the early weeks at home with a new baby.
Her career path changed and evolved after becoming a mother herself in December 2003. While no longer a practicing doula, she continued to educate and support new parents as they navigated their parenting journey from prenatal to birth and postnatal. Seeing the need for specific support, Julie created a workshop for women who had experienced difficult or traumatic births and/or postnatal periods.
Julie with her husband, Tim, and Meredith.
An avid writer, she published her first book, an extension of her essay What I Would Tell You, in May 2015. This book is a collection of hard earned wisdom gained in her adventures as a mother of a child with medical fragility. Although the lessons she has learned come from one particular path, this book resonates with anyone who has experienced an unexpected detour in their lives or anyone who is in a care giving role. After the first publication sold out, Julie decided to write an expanded and revised edition of her book with updated existing chapters and the addition of twelve new chapters. This edition was released in December 2017. It is a must read for those who work with families like Julie’s.
Julie welcomed the opportunity to become a licensed marriage officiant for the province of Ontario in 2012 and expanded her services by graduating as a Certified Life-Cycle Celebrant® in early 2013 from the Celebrant Foundation & Institute with a focus on funeral and end-of-life celebrations. As a result of this intensive celebrant training and designation, she specializes in the creation and implementation of ceremonies to mark life’s transitions and important events from the start of life to the end of life and everything in between. By applying “gold standard services,” a quality outlined by the Celebrant Foundation and Institute, Julie assures her clients that every ceremony she creates will be meaningful and memorable.
As a graduate (April 2016) of the Beyond Yonder Virtual School for Community Deathcaring in Canada, she aims to educate and support her community in the reclamation of family-centred death care. Combining her education with her celebrant skills, she offers ceremony and rituals to help individuals, families and communities cope with loss, trauma, death and grief. As a new facilitator for the Beyond Yonder Virtual School for Community Deathcaring in Canada, Julie shares her knowledge and insight on the role celebrant skills and death rituals play in community death caring. She launched her new end-of-life preparation course, Ready Or Not~ Preparing for the Inevitable, for members of the community in early 2017.
Interests include psychology, health, travel, cooking, writing, and staying vibrant and resilient while holding on to a sense of humour. Julie shares her life in the Ottawa valley, Canada with her husband, Tim, and their daughter, Meredith.
