Julia Brown (US Army, Lt. Col.(P) Ret.)
"the Fighting Army JAG and Fierce Activist"
As a child, Julia Brown (US Army, Lt. Col.(P) Ret.) survived poverty, discrimination, and moving halfway across the country after the death of her parents. She reached out for all life could offer, setting and achieving goals most would say were beyond the reach of any child in her situation. That drive led her to help hundreds and perhaps thousands of persons in similar situations, over the course of her 30-year career in the US Army and decades in the public sector and corporate America. As a result, she received a Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award for Volunteer and Community service from Barack Obama in 2016.
EARLY LIFE: Her family’s genealogy includes three Native American tribes (Cherokee, Creek, and Seminole) and African lineage. She was bright, able to read and write and do simple math by the time she entered kindergarten. She was a small, sickly child but that didn’t stop her from reaching out to all that life offered.
She was already a child model when she moved in with her grandmother and started public speaking at the age of 5. Later she did voice-over ads and won awards at beauty pageants; she was often the only black contestant. “I was like every other little girl who watched Miss America pageants and dreamed of walking the runway” Julia recalled.
The dichotomy of life in Oklahoma was powerful. Her family and their neighbors were poor.
I grew up in the days before food stamps. People got boxes of commodities. On the reservation, people still do. Her grandmother, who was Creek-Seminole and Black, held neighborhood cooking classes to show young mothers how to use every item to feed their families. — Julia Brown
“I knew when I was 12 that I wanted to be a lawyer. I didn’t know how I would do that, though. When I was in high school, I thought about going into the Navy, until my cousins (who were in the Navy) dissuaded me because I was a girl,” Julia said.
Julia got her bachelor’s degree from Oklahoma State University. She was angry when she learned they would not admit females into the ROTC program there. Thankfully, over time that has changed. She graduated from the University of Oklahoma College of Law; she now describes OU as a bastion of liberalism in the redneck state. “The football program has attracted so much money that it made OU too strong for the conservative state legislature to control,” she mused. Julia was only the eighth black person to get an OU law degree. The OU administration of the 1970s threatened to expel her for recruiting minority students. The school did no minority recruitment, so she and fellow students started doing it on their own. “This was a frustrating and difficult three years,” she said.
While at OU, Julia earned a prestigious Reginald Heber Smith Community Lawyer Fellowship that resulted in a two-year placement in Legal Services of Western Oklahoma (She was one of 2,000 “Reggies” to earn this honor nationally in the fellowship’s 25-year existence. For more information, Persons: Reginald Heber Smith Fellows (Reggies) | Legal Aid History.) She was the first Reggie to be assigned to a post in her home state and – believe it or not – in the community where she grew up. This gave her an insider’s perspective as she did community organizing, set up non-profit organizations, advocated for stronger consumer protection laws and eventually filed a successful civil rights complaint against the Okla. Dept of Transportation for violating Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
Notwithstanding the pain, I’m thankful for the adversity and discrimination I suffered in Oklahoma. It taught me tactics, strategy, and grace under fire. – Julia Brown
Even though she was class president, no Judge Advocate General (JAG) recruiters sought out her or other minorities at the Law school. She was recruited while in the office of an assistant district attorney in Oklahoma County, who happened to be talking to an Army JAG recruiter.
MILITARY SERVICE: Julia spent 30 years in the Army: six years on active duty and 24 years in the Army Reserves. She entered the Army through the Civilian Acquired Skills Program (CASP) for women. Her basic training at Ft. McClellan, AL was the final class sworn into the Women’s Army Corps; the follow-on class was part of the then new “One Army” Read The Women’s Army Corps 1945-1978.
Julia experienced discrimination and “disparate treatment” in various ways while in the Army; but the comradery of the JAG Corps and her ability to provide assistance to military members and their dependents buoyed her to stay in and continue to serve her country and fellow soldiers.
Her 30 years of service included assignments at the Pentagon; active duty in Haiti and Cuba; developing and then seeing the impact of leaflet bombs and Psychological Operations (PSYOPS) campaigns in Desert Storm; and an assignment at Ft. Hood, TX. In addition to JAG, Civil Affairs and PSYOPS, she graduated from Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute at Patrick AFB. She retired as an LTC(P), and deputy commander of the 75th Legal Support Organization.
I’m still in touch with a lot of people I have served with. It was an incredible journey I’m proud and honored to have served. I cherish it so much. – Julia Brown
MILITARY SERVICE: Julia spent 30 years in the Army: six years on active duty and 24 years in the Army Reserves. She entered the Army through the Civilian Acquired Skills Program (CASP) for women. Her basic training at Ft. McClellan, AL was the final class sworn into the Women’s Army Corps; the follow-on class was part of the then new “One Army” Read The Women’s Army Corps 1945-1978.
Julie experienced discrimination and “disparate treatment” in various ways while in the Army; but the comradery of the JAG Corps and her ability to provide assistance to military members and their dependents buoyed her to stay in and continue to serve her country and fellow soldiers.
Her 30 years of service included assignments at the Pentagon; active duty in Haiti and Cuba; developing and then seeing the impact of leaflet bombs and Psychological Operations (PSYOPS) campaigns in Desert Storm; and an assignment at Ft. Hood, TX. In addition to JAG, Civil Affairs and PSYOPS, she graduated from Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute at Patrick AFB. She retired as an LTC(P), and deputy commander of the 75th Legal Support Organization.
I’m still in touch with a lot of people I have served with. It was an incredible journey I’m proud and honored to have served. I cherish it so much. – Julia Brown
POST-MILITARY CAREER: After leaving active duty, Julia expanded her legal career playing key roles in corporations and in the public sector, including Executive Assistant to the Deputy Mayor for Economic Development in the District of Columbia; Director of the Oakland, CA, Office of Economic Development and Employment; and VP and CRA Officer at Charles Schwab Bank. She also served eight years as National Board Chair of American Association of University Women. In each position, she was an advocate for those who did not have a place at the table.
After moving to New Mexico nearly 14 years ago, Julia was named the Doña Ana County Manager. While county manager, she received the Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award from President Obama. After her initial contract was renewed, newly elected county commissioners questioned the decision and eventually terminated her contract “without cause” following a tumultuous public meeting where she received much public support. Julia contended the termination was retaliation for her whistleblowing reports involving violations by at least two county elected officials; she filed complaints pursuant to NM’s Whistleblower Protection Act with the Human Rights Bureau and civil rights complaints with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). She received a settlement as a result of mediation. She later became City Manager for nearby Sunland Park.
I never lost track of the fact that we really are our brother’s keeper. God had blessed me with a double measure of talents and skills. I try to use those to help people. – Julia Brown
She is currently one of two NM Economic Development Department Community, Business and Rural Development representatives in NMEDD’s region five that includes Doña Ana, Luna, Hidalgo, Grant, Sierra, Catron and Socorro counties.
I’ve been a prosecutor in military and civilian life; I’ve handled land use, zoning, public utility law, Civil Rights law, banking and municipal finance, community and economic development matters. I’ve been an administrative law judge, an Assistant Attorney General, County and City manager, and I’ve worked in every level of government. I know our system inside and out. – Julia Brown
Over her entire working life, Julia has taken every opportunity to learn new skills. “I did everything from going to technical schools; learning auto mechanics, body and fender; carpentry, cabinetmaking, etc. Every one of those things and every job I have ever had (working at McDonald’s, her military career, and all the rest) has come into play and I have been able to use this experience to help people navigate their lives. I’ve been so blessed,” she said, “and I continue to mentor young women, encouraging them to start businesses, give back to the community and run for public office.”
Julia also lends her heart and her talents to community and political groups. She is active in Democratic politics in New Mexico: she is Second Vice Chair of the Democratic Party of Doña Ana County; president of the State Federation of Democratic Women; President of the Doña Ana County Federation of Democratic Women, was elected to the State Party’s Affirmative Action Committee and was also elected as a delegate to this year’s Democratic National Convention.
Because of her diverse military and private sector experience, she has concerns about the current state of national politics. She sees examples of “textbook PSYOPs” in the campaign tactics of the Republican presidential candidate. “It is fascinating from an academic standpoint to see what we learned at the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School (Ft. Liberty, formerly Ft. Bragg, NC) applied in real life. But, the willingness to try to brainwash Americans is one reason why Trump should be seen as a danger to our democracy” she observed.
Since she’s been living in southern New Mexico for the past 14 years, she questions the misinformation that media outside NM and some candidates are floating about border issues.
The tall tales about migrants are not true; and New Mexico is not in crisis about people coming to seek a better way of life. The US has had unfair and inadequate immigration laws and policies for many decades; it’s something which I hope the coming administration and Congress will substantively address. – Julia Brown
Thank you for honoring our colleague Julia Brown and helping her tell more of her story than most of us knew. I wish we were well-enough acquainted to call her a friend, but I admire the hell out of her from a distance. She once called me out of order in a discussion she was running and did so perfectly in substance and style.
At bottom she has deep respect for herself and therefore for others. As busy as she is on important duties, she took time the other day to respond to our invitation to collect litter in a little city park DPDAC adopted, just so we would know not to expect her. She leads in every way.
Thanks for reaching out to us, John, and commenting on both the article and Julia . She is an amazing person!