Julie Verdugo
Julie is an impact driven Chilean-American living between Barcelona and the Catskills in NY. She currently leads Sustainability and Social Impact at Free People, of URBN Inc. and has dedicated her career to driving change through ethical product creation and community focused initiatives.
In her 8 years in-house at URBN she started and led the Impact departments at both Free People and Urban Outfitters after leading impact projects with global brands, including adidas. She has worked closely with many nonprofits, including the National Park Foundation, Girls Inc, The Sundance Institute, Active Minds, Feeding America, amongst many others. Her work has led her from factory floors in Argentina, to teaching sustainable jewelry design in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro, to building business strategies with artisan coops in India; and has also led Free People to earn impact awards from both Girls Inc and Mercado Global.
She sits on the Fashion Advisory Board of LIM College, the Advisory Board of Mercado Global, the Board of Directors of Cuba Skate, and the Associate Advisory Board of Girls Inc. She has lectured on topics of Sustainability and Social Impact for IESE Business School, the University of Michigan Ross Business School. LIM College, and Wharton Business School. She is a cofounder and designer of the jewelry project Gemela.
Check out Julie’s TEDx The Contribution Mindset.
Julie holds a Bachelor of Science in Engineering from the University of Michigan, a bilingual MBA from IESE Business School in Barcelona, Spain, and holds certificates in Sustainable Business Strategy from Harvard Business School Online and Leading with Diversity from the University of Pennsylvania.