Julia Och serves as the RESTORE Project Director with Violence Prevention Network USA, Inc. (VPN USA). She has fifteen years of experience in cross-sector collaboration, strategic planning, and project management with nonprofit and philanthropic organizations in the Greater Pittsburgh region and beyond. Prior to joining VPN USA, Julia worked as the Director of Development Operations at the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh. She also spent more than six years serving as the Project Manager for AIDS Free Pittsburgh, a collaborative public health movement to end HIV/AIDS as an epidemic in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. Julia holds a bachelor’s degree in International Development and Social Change and a master’s degree in Community Development and Planning from Clark University.
My network of professionals working on countering hate in all its forms grew exponentially after attending Eradicate Hate in 2021. The myriad voices represented at Eradicate Hate, from big tech companies to academic researchers to those with lived experience, reinforced to me the importance of cross-cutting and collaborative approaches to counter hate and its devastating impacts on society. I’ve been fortunate to sustain and build those networks with many of those I met at Eradicate Hate in 2021.
