Julie Koenke serves as the Executive Director of the Great Lakes College and Career Pathway Partnership (GLCCPP), a collaboration between ConnectED: The National Center for College and Career, Education Systems Center, Jobs for the Future. With support from the Joyce Foundation, the GLCCPP supports the implementation of college and career pathways within four Great Lakes communities; Columbus, OH, Madison, WI, Rockford, Il, and the Northwest Suburbs of Chicago. Additionally, Julie serves as the Director of District and Regional Support working with school districts on the east coast.

Julie has over 20 years of experience as a youth worker, community educator, and district administrator working towards systems-level change. She brings her expertise in developing effective collaborative teams, supporting change management, and a passion for creating equitable schools and communities.

Throughout her career, Julie has been led by the belief that developing and deepening relationships is critical to expanding opportunities for students and their communities. With 20 years of experience developing public/private partnerships, Julie has spearheaded partnerships between public schools, non-profits, higher education institutions, businesses, foundations, and industry in order to bolster student achievement and success. As a result, these cross-cutting programs saw an increase in participation in afterschool programs, high school graduation rates, college enrollment rates, and access to and achievement in advanced and rigorous coursework for historically-underserved youth. Prior to her current role, Julie served as the Director of Secondary Programs and Pathways Partnerships for the Madison Metropolitan School District (MMSD) in Wisconsin. She led MMSD’s efforts to implement personalized pathways with a Linked Learning approach across 16 middle and high schools.

Julie graduated from University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point with a Bachelor of Fine Arts and attained her Master of Fine Arts from Vermont College of Fine Arts. Julie has attended both University of Wisconsin and Ferris State University working towards a Master’s in Experiential Education. She enjoys hiking in the mountains of Western North Carolina, spending time painting and drawing in her studio.