Julie A. Murray
Julie is one of Nevada's foremost social entrepreneurs. Throughout her three decades in public life, she has founded and advised a range of organizations that seek to improve the quality of life for those at risk by supporting hunger relief, educational outreach, public safety, and corporate philanthropy. She is well known for her passionate commitment to these causes and her leadership skills have helped create strong coalitions, bringing together stakeholders, elected officials and philanthropists to solve our most pressing social problems.
Julie's most recent endeavor is as the founding CEO of the Moonridge Group. Moonridge Group works with funders in the US and globally to provide guidance about strategic philanthropy. Prior, Julie was founding president and CEO of Three Square, Southern Nevada's food bank and distribution hub. Her dedication to increased hunger awareness and relief, helped make Three Square a national model for hunger relief.
In five short years, she led Three Square from a concept drawn up at her kitchen table to an operation that today distributes 16,000,000 meals annually through 600 program partners including non-profit and faith-based organizations, schools and feeding sites throughout Southern Nevada. Through her extraordinary fundraising abilities, Three Square was able to expand its budget to $55 million annually, and joined the Feeding America network of food banks.
Prior to this, Julie served as the national campaign director for the Andre Agassi Charitable Foundation where she led the $36 million capital campaign to build the Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy, a K-12 charter school that serves students from Las Vegas' most at-risk neighborhoods.
She is also the co-founder and co-sponsor of the Las Vegas "I Have a Dream" Foundation, where she continues to serve on the board. In this role, she "adopted" 55 children in kindergarten through 3rd grade from a City of Las Vegas Public Housing Project, and committed to stay involved in their development through high school and college. Julie helped raise over $225,000 annually to help cover the cost of college for "I Have a Dream" recipients. The "Dreamers" have achieved an 80% high school graduation rate -- three times higher than their peer group, making the "I Have a Dream" project one of the most successful K-12 education models in the country.
With an ongoing commitment to education, Julie was recognized by the College of Southern Nevada with the "NV Energy - Julie Murray Endowed Scholarship" which provides scholarships annually to deserving students attending the College of Southern Nevada (CSN).
She recently was appointed to the US Global Leadership Coalition and represented Nevada at the 2015 conference in Washington, D.C.
She serves on the Wells Fargo Community Board for the State of Nevada.
Prior to her leadership in the non-profit industry, Julie served as a consultant to Harrah's Entertainment (now Caesars Entertainment Corporation) providing guidance on their national strategic philanthropy for over seven years. During this period, she co-chaired the Model Assisted Living Advisory Committee with Nevada Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley, which built the country's first senior citizens' assisted living, affordable housing site utilizing BLM land and the Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act.
In 2005, Julie was appointed by Governor Kenny Guinn to serve on the state's Grants Management Unit housed in State of Nevada Department of Health and Human Services.
She also serves on the University of Nevada, Las Vegas Medical School Advisory Board, and as a Board of Trustee Emeritus member for the University of Nevada, Reno, and immediate past president of the Board of Las Vegas Fire and Rescue Foundation, which she co-founded. Additionally, she is on the board for Noah's Animal House and the First Friday Foundation.
Her work has been widely recognized by the media, including a profile in the Los Angeles Times Magazine and numerous awards including "The Most influential Women in Nevada," "Who's Who of Nevada," "Most Influential Nevadan," "Alpha Kappa Alpha- Community Award. In May 2015, Julie was honored for her community achievements at the annual JDRF Gala. In July 2015, she was selected by Wendoh Media's VEGAS SEVEN magazine as "Advocate of the Year."
She co-authored the book A Place at the Table with Eric Hilton, authored the Foreword in the Book Corporate Social Responsibility and an article in the "Chronicle of Philanthropy" about Effective Strategies for Boards of Directors. Murray is a mother of three and a lifelong Nevadan who graduated from Bishop Gorman High School. She received her Bachelor's and Master's Degrees in Communications from University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
She is a frequent speaker on the topics of philanthropy and community engagement.
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