Meet Julie Corbett, a 2004 Anthropology & Sociology and International Studies graduate. Julie got her MPA (public administration) at the University of Delaware and is now President of Corbett Education Consulting. Julie’s work focuses on transforming the education system to meet the needs of every child. She focuses on “changing the status quo and calling to light how adults and systems need to change to positively impact students.” As the president of her company for the last 12 years, she works on content-related projects (developing publications, advising clients on strategy, facilitating strategic planning, presenting at conferences) while also managing the operational aspects of the company (responding to RFPs, preparing scopes of work, hiring and overseeing subcontractors, and managing finances). Julie works with nonprofit organizations, state education agencies, local school districts, and federally-funded content and regional centers. She also served as an elected board of education member for her local community. Previously, she has worked at a Boston-based education reform non-profit, and was an AmeriCorps VISTA member with the Delaware Mentoring Council. Julie first found her love of helping children through leading the Denison student volunteers at the New Beginnings domestic violence shelter in Newark.
During her time at Denison, she never saw herself as a business owner or an expert in the field of education. She shares, “I originally wanted to go into international relations and international service. Once I found myself in U.S. education-related service and work, it quickly became the right fit. I’ve always wanted to work to improve society. An internship while in graduate school opened up my eyes to education reform and it was really exciting to me to be able to question the system and structures and to try to make something new or better. Starting my own company before the age of 30 was a risky giant leap of faith, and I’ve had to learn a ton about consulting and managing a company- sometimes by losing out on projects or making mistakes.”
Julie’s advice to you: “Sometimes you need to take a big risk if you need a change in your personal or professional life. In education, it’s not about the students being a problem, it’s the adults and the systems and structures they create that hurt students and that need to change. Owning a business isn’t always glamorous – you have to deal with taxes, tech issues, challenging clients, subcontractors who don’t pull through, etc. (but it can also provide amazing flexibility – especially as a parent with young kids).” Most people that she knows and works with didn’t major in what they do now. She finds that she regularly uses her sociology background and some of the knowledge from international studies (especially from her semester abroad in Nicaragua) has helped her have a more equity-focused and aware perspective to her work in education. “You learn the content expertise as you go. Having the basic foundational skills – to be able to articulate your thoughts, to speak up or present in meetings, to write for a variety of settings and stakeholders, to think critically, to research and back up your thoughts/opinions, and to work with a variety of people – those are the skills that are most useful in the workplace.”
Julie’s additional words of wisdom: “One of my longest-running professional relationships and clients came from cold-emailing an education organization when I first started my company. Follow through and treat others how you want to be treated. Always be the professional one – even if it takes everything in your being to do it. Wait a day (or at least a few hours) to cool off before responding to an email that triggers you emotionally. Be humble about what you don’t know, but confident in your skills – especially if you’re the youngest one in the room.”
Connect with Julie on LinkedIn.
