Julie was born and grew up in Johannesburg, but spent much of her youth with her brother, Grahame, in the wilds of KwaZulu Natal, Zimbabwe and Botswana. She completed music training and several short courses while working at a veterinary practise. Having completed her studies, she worked for a game lodge operation, Clive Walker as a PA and then moved to Botswana working on a lion rehabilitation project doing administration, editing and environmental education. After four years, she returned to South Africa, doing research for a while for environmental documentaries before moving to Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park to work with the Game Capture unit. Here, she looked after the animals in the bomas and wrote a care manual. It was here that Julie met her husband, Frank.
Four years later Frank and Julie moved to the Southern Cape where she worked on and initiated several environmental education programmes, worked with several environmental NGO's and developed, fundraised for and implemented environmental and community development programmes and projects. She was a lead agent in the team appointed for the application to UNESCO for the declaration of the Garden Route Biosphere Reserve and served as a Director and Project Manager for a term.
Julie completed an MBA through Rhodes University in 2013.
She currently continues with several projects in the Southern Cape and voluntarily manages the Rex the Rhino Conservation Fund.