Michael Mandiberg

I met Julie when I was in college. I think I met her because maybe her son Alec was in a summer photography camp I ran? I don’t exactly remember how, but I ended up at her house, next to a wall covered in framed photographs, talking about art. Over the next 10 years I met up with her for coffee when I was back in PDX; these meetings were one of the things I looked forward to about coming back to PDX.

Growing up I knew people involved in the creative arts, but Julie was the first person I met who was working at at such a serious level. Meeting her and learning about the work she had done was one of the key moments for me in imagining that I could make a life in the arts.

From the beginning she listened with care, and treated me, then a 19 or 20 year old student, with seriousness and respect. Her encouragement felt real, not just a show. I probably wouldn’t have had the words to describe it at the time, but looking back, I would say I felt seen in a way I had not previously.

I lost contact with her when she left Mercy Corp and her email bounced. But I did not forget her mentorship.