Julien Ross co-founded and helped lead two immigrant justice organizations, Workers Defense Project in Austin, Texas (2002-2006) and Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition (2006-2017). At Workers Defense, Julien helped start Austin’s first worker rights center, which has grown into a statewide power achieving fair employment through education, organizing, and direct services. Julien raised critical seed money in the early stages to grow the organization and managed 4 full-time staff.
In Colorado, Julien helped grow the coalition from a budget of $120,000 to $1.1 Million and from a staff of 1 to a team of 14 with 5 offices statewide. Julien supported an immigrant-led Board of 15 Directors and launched a new 501(c)(4) CIRC Action Fund in 2012 which achieved key victories on driver's licenses, in-state tuition and repealing the show-me-your-papers law.
During Julien’s tenure, CIRC participated in multi-year anti-oppression and Diversity-Equity-Inclusion engagement to strive toward a culture that reflected the values we were fighting for in the world.
After transitioning from the Colorado coalition in 2017, Julien was tapped by the Four Freedoms Fund and State Infrastructure Fund to provide executive and organizational management coaching, training, and facilitation to grantees. Julien received coaching training at Rockwood Leadership Institute's Yearlong Fellowship and recently graduated from Rockwood's inaugural 2022 Growing White Leadership For Racial Equity cohort.
Julien was born and raised in the traditional lands of the Pueblo, Apache, and Navajo people, known today as New Mexico. Julien is fluent in Spanish and able to coach and/or train in Spanish. He was a proud restaurant worker for 10 years growing up and is an avid skier, swimmer, and meteorologist/storm forecaster.