Club Meeting: Mayor Fitzgerald Looks Forward

Wilsonville Mayor Juile Fitzgerald will be our guest speaker. Having been elected mayor in November 2020 and inaugurated this past January, she will offer a look forward for where the Wilsonville community is headed.

The Rotary Club of Wilsonville meets every Thursday at noon, living out the club’s main objectives of service and fellowship. Guests are always welcome. Meetings take place on Zoom. Contact President Joe Schwab at president@wilsonvillerotary.com, or any member of the club for details.

Mayor Fitzgerald previously served on the Wilsonville City Council (2013–16), during which her work included chairing the Transit Master Plan Task Force, helping to launch the Citizens Academy, and increasing Wilsonville’s future capacity for family wage jobs with development of the Basalt Creek Concept Area plan.

With a family background in agriculture and parents who often participated in community efforts, Julie majored in Animal Science at Oregon State University.  After graduating — and while managing the family’s ranch and a herd of 1,000 sheep — she discovered her eventual vocation when she volunteered to lead a community fundraising drive.

In the years since, Julie has managed multi-million-dollar budgets and led significant efforts in Oregon’s charitable sector to promote education, health care, and conservation. Her career includes leadership positions at The Nature Conservancy, OHSU Foundation, Oregon 4-H Foundation and Silverton Hospital Foundation. She is currently Executive Director of the Oregon Zoo Foundation.

A past president of the Oregon & Southwest Washington Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, Fitzgerald is currently on the Board of Clackamas Community Repertory Theatre, having previously served as Board Chair.

Julie enjoys spending time with her family: her husband, Bob, a retired librarian; three sons; two step-daughters; and two grandchildren. Her favorite activities include canoeing, walking, reading and live theater.