about

JuliePic compressedAbout
Dr Julie Wuthnow is a communications consultant  and writer specializing in white papers and web content for sustainable businesses.
She comes to this role through a varied and ‘non-linear’ path.    Most recently, she spent 20 years in the academic world as a political scientist, focusing in the last few years on environmental politics.  She was at  the University of Canterbury for 12 years,  loved teaching and was rewarded with a University award for teaching excellence in 2001.
Academic research proved to be a bit more of a challenge.  While Julie loves writing perhaps even more than teaching (which is saying quite a lot), academic writing is another matter entirely.   The words, articles and books that surrounded her never seemed to actually DO much in the world and were (very) often  poorly written.   She spent a lot of time trying to break the mold and write compelling and well-written academic ’stories.’
She also grew weary of  internal university turf wars, perpetual budget cuts, and the business model of education.   She thinks it’s best to leave business to the business world where they actually know how to do it properly.  She is pleased to be returning to the genuine, bona fide, real article, authentic business world.
Julie has hands-on experience of  the business world from an earlier life.  She spent 6 years as a stockbroker in Seattle in the 1980s.  She learned the fundamentals of customer service during this time as well as many of the complexities of the securities business.  This experience has proved invaluable in interpreting the global financial and economic news over the last year, and  so what if she doesn’t fully understand derivatives?  Who does?
Her favorite part of the securities business was when she was on the trading desk, and very busy with executing customer orders to buy and sell stocks and bonds.  The fast pace was exciting, and she especially enjoyed  getting to know the floor traders she spoke to several times a day in Chicago, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.   Those were some VERY funny guys.
In an even earlier life, she was a goody-two shoes nerd who won a National Merit Scholarship, went to Stanford University for a couple of years, completed most of a pre-medical program, and then thankfully realized medicine wasn’t for her before making the mistake of actually applying to medical school.
Julie traveled extensively before moving to New Zealand in 1996.  She made several trips through Europe and into the Middle East in the 1970s & 80s, took up a Fulbright Scholarship in Finland in 1996, and made numerous jaunts within the U.S. and Mexico over many years.
Firmly ensconced in middle age, Julie now prefers to stay closer to home, suburban and unremarkable as it may be.  She shares a home with partner Cate, Italian Greyhound Bruno, and Burmese kitty Dora in Christchurch, New Zealand.  She highly recommends travel through the South Island of New Zealand, however, and fails to comprehend how some people can remain unmoved by African Djembe drumming and dancing.
Sustainability, ‘nature experiences’ (especially involving wild animals like dolphins, crabs under rocks, or native birds), organic gardening, sea kayaking, and long walks in the hills are in her blood.

about seriously sanguine sustainability

The blog and associated products and services provided at ’seriously sanguine sustainability’ have been created to serve the community of  sustainable businesses, social entrepreneurs,  and eco-preneurs.

The emphasis is on sharing information and advice, for instance green biz tips, book reviews of the best new titles in sustainable business and marketing,  networking, developments in cleantech, consumer trends, and green finance, as well as other issues raised by readers.  And sometimes there will just be some good news, perhaps about an exciting new collaboration, a technological innovation, or a political breakthrough that furthers the cause of sustainability.

While Julie resides primarily in New Zealand, the blog will take an international approach.  The best ideas deserve to be shared, regardless of origin, and as she recently quoted Benjamin Franklin as saying, ‘[w]e must indeed all hang together, or, most assuredly, we shall hang separately.’  National boundaries should never be a barrier to all of us moving towards a more sustainable world.

The focus of  ’seriously sanguine sustainability’ (perhaps unsurprisingly) is on the positive, the constructive, and even the uplifting.   Julie elaborates on this theme in the beautiful positive, and looks forward to hearing from readers about any and all sanguine sustainability in their own businesses,  lives and communities.

about julie

Dr Julie Wuthnow is a communications consultant  and writer specializing in white papers, articles and authority web content.

She comes to this role through a varied and ‘non-linear’ path.    Most recently, she spent 20 years in the academic world as a political scientist, focusing in the last few years on environmental politics.  She was at  the University of Canterbury for 12 years,  loved teaching and was rewarded with a University award for teaching excellence in 2001.

While Julie loves writing perhaps even more than teaching, academic writing is another matter entirely.   The words, articles and books that surrounded her never seemed to actually do much in the world;  she is pleased to be returning to the terrain of business where words can be more closely linked to clear and effective action.

Julie has hands-on experience of  the business world from an earlier life.  She spent 6 years as a stockbroker in Seattle in the 1980s.  She learned the fundamentals of customer service during this time as well as many of the complexities of the securities business.  This experience has proved invaluable in interpreting the global financial and economic events since 2008 that are shaping new political and economic realities for all of us.

In an even earlier life, she was more than a bit nerdy and won a National Merit Scholarship, went to Stanford University for a couple of years, completed most of a pre-medical program, and then thankfully realized medicine wasn’t for her before making the mistake of actually applying to medical school.

Julie traveled extensively before moving to New Zealand in 1996.  She made several trips through Europe and into the Middle East in the 1970s & 80s, took up a Fulbright Scholarship in Finland in 1996, and made numerous jaunts within the U.S. and Mexico over many years.

Firmly ensconced in middle age, Julie now prefers to stay closer to home, suburban and unremarkable as it may be.  She shares a home with partner Cate, Italian Greyhound Bruno, and Burmese kitty Dora in Christchurch, New Zealand.  She highly recommends travel through the South Island of New Zealand, however, and fails to comprehend how some people can remain unmoved by African Djembe drumming and dancing.

Julie is a confirmed ‘nature girl’:  experiences involving wild animals like dolphins, crabs under rocks, or native birds, as well as organic gardening, sea kayaking, and long walks in the hills all make her very happy.  But on the culture side,  so do good friends, food, music,  novels and films.  Life is rich.

For more information about the services Julie can provide for your organization, click here.

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