Julia Ernst, Development Director, was raised in Orchard Park, New York and was exposed at a very early age to music and the arts. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in History of Art from Williams College and École du Louvre, Paris. Julia spent the first 15 years of her career in the contemporary art world, with positions in New York, London and Los Angeles. In 2000, she began her fundraising career in Washington, DC with gala events for the National Symphony Orchestra and Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts that led to a position at Washington National Opera. In 2004, she was invited to join Youth Orchestra of the Americas as Director of Development. Julia credits her experience gained in educating and stewarding art collectors as the biggest influence on her thoughtful and long-term fundraising initiatives. Her lifelong involvement in nurturing and promoting rising, often struggling, young artists translates naturally into her work promoting young musicians and Youth Orchestra of the Americas.