Julie Ogunleye

Director, 211 Resource Helpline and 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline

Inspiration: “The good we secure for ourselves is precarious and uncertain until it is secured for all of us and incorporated into our common life.” — Jane Addams

What working in this community means to me: “To me, working in this community means being a listener, learner and humble partner. It means seeking a variety of perspectives and acting on what we hear. I deeply appreciate the opportunity to work alongside such thoughtful partners, community members and colleagues to address disparities in our region.”

Julie leads United Way’s 211 information and referral program and 988 suicide prevention and crisis lifeline. She oversees our local 211 and 988 contact centers, builds strategic community partnerships and lifts up community insights in support of advocacy and systems improvement efforts. Julie is on a mission to make it as easy as possible to ask for and receive help when it’s needed, and to enable community-centered and data-informed decision making.

Prior to her role current role, Julie spent ten years working with Twin Cities companies to achieve their corporate social responsibility goals, engage their employees and raise donations for local community issues. She studied political science and urban development at Minnesota State University, Mankato and earned a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Texas at San Antonio.

Julie lives in Shoreview with her husband and two sons. In her free time, she enjoys listening to podcasts, making sure her garden has more plants than weeds, cooking food her kids describe as “yucky” and good conversations with family and friends.