Julie

I met Julie Taulman more than 30 years ago when both of our professional lives revolved around newspapers.

If you'd told Julie she'd eventually lead an organization dedicated to creating opportunities for people with disabilities to experience the outdoors, she wouldn't have believed you.

She assumed she'd move from newspaper to newspaper, state to state, continuing to build her career.

Life had other plans.

And looking backward, Julie can now see a thread connecting what initially looked like a series of unexpected turns.

"I realize now leadership runs in the core of my being," she told me.

But the reason she leads changed dramatically along the way.

When everything changes

Julie was building a successful newspaper career when her son was diagnosed with cancer and became paralyzed.

"It changed everything."

Suddenly, the measures that had once defined professional success mattered considerably less.

Julie found herself in a world that was "scary, raw" and sometimes left her feeling "rudderless."

It also brought her priorities into sharp focus.

"If I had a shorter time with my child in life, I wanted to be present."

Her family needed to come first. And if she was going to spend time away from them, the work needed to be worth that time.

"It was no longer about money as it was to help others."

Julie began helping other families navigating life-threatening illnesses and diagnoses.

And eventually, what her own family needed became something she could create for other families.

Finding joy again

Steamboat STARS began as something intensely personal.

"I needed it for Kyle, for me and our family."

Outdoor recreation — particularly skiing — helped Julie's family rediscover joy.

Then she started watching other families experience it too.

What began as something her own family needed became a passion for helping others navigate their own challenges and discover what was still possible.

Julie poured herself into the organization. Over time, the work became deeply connected to her sense of purpose.

Eventually, her path led her to the National Sports Center for the Disabled, where she serves as CEO today.

A different definition of success

Julie's definition of success looks very different from her newspaper days.

Back then, success could be measured in net profit, subscriptions and community feedback.

Today she measures it in culture, growth and impact.

Are we meeting the needs of the people we serve?

Are we good stewards of our donors' money?

Is the team rowing in the same direction?

"When that happens and you have built the right team, the rest takes care of itself."

Julie gets particular satisfaction from helping people discover capabilities they didn't necessarily see in themselves — something she experienced early in her own career when others trusted her with opportunities before she was certain she was ready.

"Helping someone grow into something they did not know they were capable of is very fulfilling."

Making room for herself

For much of Julie's life, forward motion has come naturally.

She's been working since she was 15. She's built organizations, led teams, raised a family and spent much of her career creating opportunities for other people.

But increasingly, she's thinking about what it means to make room for the rest of life, too.

Family. A new grandchild. Travel. New interests. New ways to give back.

And perhaps simply more time to enjoy the life she's spent decades building.

There's something interesting about that evolution for someone who says leadership runs in the core of her being.

Leadership doesn't disappear when the workday ends. Purpose doesn't have to come from a title. And making a difference doesn't always require being the person in charge.

Julie learned early from her father not to "borrow trouble" — don't manufacture tomorrow's worries before they're actually yours to carry.

It's advice that has followed her through a life that has taken turns she never could have predicted back in our newspaper days.

And maybe that's part of the lesson.

You don't always have to know where the thread is leading.

After decades of building, leading, serving and showing up for other people, Julie is making more room for something else, too.

Herself.

And whatever comes next.