Julie Orozco
2024–Present
Julie is a disability rights advocate and leader in the disability community. Although she explored a variety of career paths during law school, she always returned to disability rights. She attended the American University Washington College of Law, where she received a full scholarship as a public interest/public service scholar. During law school, she interned at the National Disability Rights Network and worked for the university’s disability rights law clinic. She also conducted extensive research on the rights of disabled parents.
In addition to her work in disability rights, Julie has experience advocating for people dealing with housing and financial insecurity. In the summer of 2024, she worked for the Neighborhood Legal Services Program in Washington, DC, in their housing unit. In law school, she served as a student attorney for her school’s civil advocacy clinic, where she worked on cases involving unpaid wages and benefits.
As a blind person, Julie has experienced discrimination first hand. One of her passions is changing the negative perceptions of blind and disabled people in society. To that end, Julie has worked and volunteered for the National Federation of the Blind. Before law school, Julie assisted in the implementation of organizational programming as a staff member at the National Federation of the Blind. She helped facilitate a national mentoring program and organized, tracked, and analyzed membership data.
Julie has served as a leader in the National Federation of the Blind for over a decade. She was the first vice president of the National Federation of the Blind of Missouri, the president of the National Federation of the Blind Performing Arts Division, and a board member of the National Association of Guide Dog Users. She currently serves as the vice president of the National Federation of the Blind Arlington Chapter.
Julie is a classically trained opera singer. Before working for the National Federation of the Blind, she studied voice, conducting, and foreign languages. She taught voice to students of all ages, conducted a small choir, taught Braille music to blind students, and performed professionally.
When she is not working, Julie still loves to sing and teach Braille music. She also enjoys spending time with her husband and three-year-old daughter. As a family, the three of them like to travel, collect and read new books, and bake chocolate desserts.
