Julia’s Story: from Engineer to Author and Consultant

Welcome to my website.

Materials like metals and plastics have fascinated me ever since college. In an introductory materials science course, I learned how engineers could design customized materials to be stronger, lighter, or possess other desirable properties. A hands-on failure analysis course my senior year convinced me to pursue an advanced degree in materials science.

I became a professional writer via an unusual path. I started my career as an engineer in semiconductor packaging, where I found myself being the team member writing the reports for government contracts and the articles for publication in the industry magazines.

When I think back to my college days, I excelled in lab courses. I was good at doing experiments and writing up reports. In graduate school, one professor commented that I was the only student in the class who knew how to write an abstract.

I migrated to journalism in the early 2000s, writing and editing for a trade journal back when print magazines could attract enough advertisers to stay in business. Writing also gave me flexibility to choose my working hours, which I especially appreciated when my children were young.

People I met at trade shows assumed that I had a degree in English. There's nothing wrong with majoring in English, but I loved seeing faces change when I told them I held a PhD in materials science.

My degree gives me credibility when talking with engineers and scientists, but I don't write like an academic in my books and blog. If an intelligent English major can't understand what I'm saying, something is wrong.

My career has taken some detours, such as the six years I spent teaching music to elementary school students. I'm a lifelong musician, ever since I started piano lessons at age 7 and flute two years later. I had fun singing and dancing with 1st and 2nd graders, but after a few years, I realized that I wanted to move back into writing.

The print magazine business wasn’t as viable a career path as it had been a decade earlier, so I decided it was time to launch into commercial writing for companies. My business, JLFG Communications, works with manufacturers to help them connect business goals, environmental action, and effective communication strategies.

As an author and blogger, I like to inspire and educate readers who share my concern about the health of people and our planet. I combine personal stories with the knowledge I gain from reading what others have written. I subscribe to e-newsletters on topics that center around environmental issues and corporate responsibility, and I enjoy reading a wide variety of nonfiction books (and sometimes fiction).

I've lived in the Seattle area since 2014. When I'm not writing, I enjoy playing flute and piccolo in a community concert band and training for and participating in triathlons.  I have never done an Ironman distance triathlon race and don't intend to. Fortunately, the sport offers many shorter options. I appreciate living in an area where I can run and bicycle outdoors year-round (the roads sometimes get icy in the winter, but that doesn’t usually last too long). In 2020, when swimming pools were closed and the thought of being in an enclosed space with other humans was frightening, I became a year-round open water swimmer. Cold water has a unique healing power that only those of us who immerse ourselves in it understand.