Julie Engels is a lifelong visionary, brand strategist and entrepreneur with a passion for employing creativity and empathy to initiate individual and family recovery from the illness of addiction and mental health-related issues. With 32 years of recovery, Julie is able to draw on her extensive sober history, in addition to pulling from her formal education experiences which include a BA from Columbia College, Group Facilitation Training from Hinsdale Hospital’s New Day Center, Certification from Chicago’s Second City Conservatory, Transformational Bodywork Certification from Pacific School of Massage, and intervention and family recovery training.
With vast project management experience, Julie possesses the ability to command a room of hundreds or to facilitate an intimate family or team meeting. Although the circumstances may vary, the desired outcomes remain consistent: create a shared vision, build an action plan, agree to communication that’s free of “shame, blame, and guilt,” and then work together to achieve the set goals. This methodology transforms families addled by the illness of substance abuse, and not only initiates family systems healing, but allows each person to succeed personally, as well as thrive as an integral member of their family.
Prior to launching Roots, Julie was the CEO/Co-Founder of Tribemint, a brand marketing agency, entrenched in the startup community in Los Angeles. The roots of Tribemint can be found in Bettyvision, an online vision board platform empowering and supporting women to visualize their dreams and make them a reality. It was through the insights gleaned from her first startup’s user-base, that a greater opportunity existed to help brands build communities through shared vision, culture and engagement.
In her last tenure agency position, Julie was the SVP, Creative and Strategy at The Regan Group, a marketing agency that specializes in consumer activation strategies with measurable results. Some of the following are loyal clients: ABC Family, ABC Entertainment, FX Networks, California Pizza Kitchen, Anthem WellPoint, USA Network, 8th Continent Soymilk, Brookside Foods, Sun-Maid, AYSO, and Katalyst/Nikon, to just name a few.
Always committed to being of service to the entrepreneurial community, Julie is honored to be an Advisor to Skye Gallery, Heir Vintage, Messenger Aspen, BLK MKT, Hustlers for Humanity, Enrou, Equallet, the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce’s Bixel Exchange, and ThingsForWork. She also belongs to a myriad of organizations and provides mentorship and pro bono services to early stage founders/entrepreneurs to include Aspen Entrepreneurs, USC’s LavaLab, Atom Factory’s Smashd Labs, Women Founders Network, SoGal, Ambition, CREATE, and Aspire Charter Schools.