Julie Curtin
Background
Before joining Development Counsellors International in 1994, Julie coordinated media placements and special events for prominent clients at Howard J. Rubenstein Associates, a New York-based public relations firm specializing in real estate, entertainment and celebrity accounts. Julie opened “DCI West,” based in Denver, Colorado, in 1998 and became a DCI partner in March 2002.
Julie’s Passion for Places
Julie is a Midwestern girl by birth, but her curiosity of the world, ability to travel long distances in coach and willingness to eat almost anything have brought her many miles from the Heartland. Her passion for travel and culture began in high school when she was accepted into “People to People International,” a student exchange program that introduced her firsthand to the history, families, food, lifestyle and traditions of Japan, South Korea, China, Taiwan and Hong Kong.
The diversity of DCI’s client base has satiated Julie’s passion for places for more than a dozen years; still, she has relished the opportunity to indulge in a few overseas vacations, including a two-week safari to Botswana, Zimbabwe and South Africa with her dad, and a weeklong excursion to Paris and London with her husband.
Notable Results
- On behalf of her Indianapolis client, Julie placed articles about the growth of technology companies in this city in publications such as Red Herring, Investor’s Business Daily, BusinessWeek, Chicago Tribune and Hemispheres magazine.
- In conjunction with the governor of New Mexico’s travel to San Francisco, Julie arranged face-to-face interviews for this state leader with reporters at Investor’s Business Daily, The Wall Street Journal, BusinessWeek and USA Today, resulting in two feature articles about New Mexico’s high-tech climate.
- Julie worked directly with the Foreign Press Centers based in Los Angeles and New York to coordinate group press trips to DCI client locations, such as New Mexico, Irvine, Indianapolis and Wyoming, resulting in excellent international media coverage – across Asia and Europe – for these locales.
- Within three months of the start of DCI’s partnership with the Metro Denver Economic Development Corp., Julie placed articles about the Mile High City’s business climate in The New York Times, Christian Science Monitor and The Economist.
Up Close
Although Julie happily soaks up the urban, cultural and gastronomical amenities so easily found during her monthly visits to the New York City office, her “other life” consists of four small children, cul-de-sac living, pee-wee tennis, popsicles and Play-Doh in suburban Denver. Similar to the character played by Jennifer Garner in “Alias,” Julie is often referred to as leading a “double life” (and it’s a “special assignment” she’ll take any day!).
Where You’ll Find Julie on the Weekend
With her family of six packed in the Ford Expedition, Julie believes a perfect weekend consists of a mini-hike along the base of the beautiful Flat Irons, a kid-friendly picnic lunch, and as few scrapes and bruises to show for the day as possible. Top it off with an evening of early bedtimes followed by cooking with her husband, Steve, over a bottle of California cabernet and that is one perfect weekend!
Places that Julie has Called Home
Denver, Colorado
New York, New York
Lincoln, Nebraska
Big Sky, Montana
Lawrence, Kansas
Surprising Facts about Julie
Lions and Tigers and Bears….Oh My!
Though far from the Yellow Brick Road, this Kansas girl met her fellow Kansan husband while both were living and working in New York City. Both Julie and her husband attended the University of Kansas, however, these Jayhawk paths did not cross until playing pool late one night at Bleeker and Lafayette Streets in SoHo. Oh my!
Despite Landlocked Locations, A Competitive Rower Prevails
Not one to let geographic obstacles stand in her way, Julie has an affinity for rowing (both quads and eights) that has landed her on the varsity rowing team at the University of Kansas, as well as the master’s rowing team for the Rocky Mountain Rowing Club. Despite neither Ivy League funding nor location, the teams were able to compete – and medal! – in regattas in Austin, Boston, Atlanta, Madison and Philadelphia.
All I Really Need to Know I Learned At My Summer Job
With a degree in marketing and a father who owned a successful chain of restaurants and a hotel, Julie was confident her first summer job would include a top title and an air-conditioned office. Instead, she spent the summer picking up cigarette butts in the hotel parking lot, weeding the circle drive, and emptying trash bins. Lessons learned: Hard work is good for you; never have a sense of entitlement; pick up after yourself; and always do good work even if no one’s watching.
