After graduating from Sterling High School in 1989, Julie Lynch attended the University of Iowa, where she completed a bachelor's degree in English in 1993 and master’s degree in library science in 1997. She was drawn to the library science program as it presented her with an opportunity to both help people and get hands-on archival experience. Julie obtained a second master’s degree in history from DePaul University in 2010. Julie currently works for the Chicago Public Library system at the Sulzer Regional Library. There, she curates the CPL branch’s Northside Neighborhood History Collection, which collects and maintains historical materials from Chicago neighborhoods such as Edison Park and Logan Square. The materials include information on which nationalities once called the north side’s various neighborhoods homes, such as German or Irish-Americans, and how each neighborhood has since developed to where it is today.“We talk about Chicago as being a city of neighborhoods,” Julie said. “And it’s really (about) trying to find ways to bring the city services and work for the people who live here to make their lives better.”Outside of her work for CPL, Julie is involved with Heartland Alliance Refugee and Immigrant Community Services and Heartland Alliance’s Marjorie Kovler Center. Through the Kovler Center, Julie is involved with the photovoice project, which is designed to aid asylum seekers and refugees as they adjust to life in Chicago. The refugees’ stories are told through their own words and photos they take, and are displayed at the Sulzer Regional Library.In 2016, Julie received an award from the Marjorie Kovler Center for her work with the photovoice project. She has also worked with two of her colleagues from Heartland Alliance teaching a webinar on the photovoice project for the Public Library Association in 2018.As a volunteer with the nonprofit organization Mercy Beyond Borders, Julie worked alongside administrators and families at St. Bakhita Girls’ Primary School in Narus, South Sudan, to start a library at the school. She has made return trips to the school almost every year to bring new materials and took her seventh trip in February 2019. Julie has also helped expand materials available at the boys’ primary school in Narus.A member of the second cohort of the International Network of Emerging Library Innovators, Julie collaborated and presented projects alongside 25 other librarians from around the globe through the Bill & Melinda Gates Global Libraries program. As one of two librarians from the United States, Julie participated in the three year program and presented both independent and collaborative work at three different convenings. Julie is thankful for all the love and support from her family and friends as well as the foundation she has back in Sterling, and is especially grateful to her parents for always giving her the same opportunities as her two older brothers.