Julie Vande Hoef

Director of Government Affairs

As Director of Government Affairs, Julie works to advance the interests of PolicyWorks' clients by providing them counsel on both federal and state policy matters, organizing grassroots assistance and actively lobbying lawmakers. Prior to joining PolicyWorks, Julie spent three years working on Capitol Hill as a Legislative Assistant to the former Chair of the House Financial Services Committee, Congressman Jim Leach.

As a policy advisor for this senior Member of Congress, she counseled the Congressman on several legislative policy issues, including agriculture, trade and economic development. While working for Congressman Leach, Julie represented the U.S. Government on investigations related to the Canadian beef industry (shortly after the first U.S. outbreak of mad cow disease) and also worked with the European community on climate change issues at the United Nations in Brussels, Belgium. Since working for PolicyWorks, Julie was invited and traveled on a U.S. State Department sponsored trip to northern Iraq. During her volunteer time in Iraq, she provided legislative advocacy training to women and minorities in their newly democratic country.

Julie is a native Iowan, who graduated from Luther College in Decorah, Iowa and received her graduate degree, as a civilian, from the U.S. Department of Defense while living in Washington, D.C. She is also an Ambassador with the Downtown Des Moines Chamber of Commerce, serves on the Legislative Committee for the Iowa Institute for Cooperatives, is a Big Sister with the Big Brother, Big Sisters of Central Iowa program, a committee member of the Credit Union National Association’s Grassroots Advocacy Taskforce and a member in the Iowa Taxpayers Association.

Julie and her husband, Dustin, reside in downtown Des Moines.