JULIE MISON, MSW
Senior Vice President of Employee Engagement and Organizational Development
Julie has been with Oakland Family Services for nearly 30 years and has served in a leadership capacity since 1997.
In 1994, she joined Oakland Family Services as an intern while completing her master’s program. After graduation, Julie was hired as a full-time therapist. Julie provided mental health and substance use disorder treatment, with a specialty in working with children who had suffered abuse and trauma.
Julie quickly advanced into a leadership role in 1997, when she became a director of behavioral health. In 2003, Julie’s career shifted as she was promoted to the director of process management, working with departments to revise processes to increase efficiency, effectiveness, customer access, quality outcomes and cost effectiveness.
In 2006, Julie accepted the position of Director of Human Resources. Julie felt particularly energized by the concept and practice of Strategic Human Resources. She was instrumental in leading Oakland Family Services in implementing this model with the premise that having an exceptional workplace culture would increase employee engagement, which would result in increased employee effectiveness, higher levels of productivity and a deeper connectedness to the organizational mission and goals. In 2017, Julie was promoted to the position of Vice President of Human Resources and Organizational Effectiveness.
Julie's title transitioned to Vice President of Employee Engagement and Organizational Development in 2019 due to the increased focus on recruitment, retention and engagement, and Julie's ongoing role in leading agency change management. Due to the agency reputation around expectational culture, Julie was asked to present as a key note speaker for the Michigan Non-Profit Association Talent Strategy Summit 2019: Thriving Nonprofit Workplaces. Julie has led the agency in participating in the Detroit Free Press Top Workplace survey since 2011, in which Oakland Family Services has been named a Michigan Top Workplace each year since. Julie's passion and commitment toward agency culture, as well as staff and client experience, is driven by her own personal mission. Being a social worker is in her core, and Julie is devoted to helping people function the best they can in their environment. She strongly believes helping staff have this same experience translates into their work toward the mission at Oakland Family Services. Julie also serves on the agency's Risk Management Committee.
Julie holds a bachelor’s degree in social work from Michigan State University and a master’s degree in social work from Wayne State University.