MANP Connects Live

Prior to her role as Implementation Director she directed the Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO) at the City of Portland to assure access for underserved populations, including immigrants/refugees, to relevant, high-quality job training and workforce preparedness opportunities while also improving linkages between job seekers and employers; convene regional stakeholders to work collaboratively to identify gaps and existing initiatives in order to develop evaluative metrics to measure the collective effort’s impact, and overall serves as a connector among service organizations, employers, and job seekers. Prior to OEO, she served as Director for Maine’s Department of Health and Human Services’ Multicultural Affairs Office (OMA). The Office provided support to state agencies, non-governmental organizations and community partners in order to develop sustainable projects and initiatives to address the needs of Maine’s racially, ethnically and linguistically diverse populations. She was also responsible for supporting the long-term economic self-sufficiency of Maine’s refugee population by overseeing all workforce development, ESOL classes, health promotion, and programs and grants stemming from the U.S. Office of Refugee Resettlement. Prior to that, Julia was part of Maine’s Department of Education Federal Programs/No Child Left Behind Team (NCLB), as the Title I, Part C Maine’s Migrant Education State Director. She oversaw all the activities of the Statewide Migrant Education Program. Julia has a B.A. in International Studies from the University of Southern Maine and a Masters in International Cooperation for Development from the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain. Julia is from the island of Gran Canaria, in the Canary Islands, Spain. She also prides herself of having a strong cultural influence from Extremadura, Spain; where her mother is originally from. She lives in Portland with her two daughters Elia and Vera.