Julie Fanselow

Online Organizer-Writer

Writer and online organizer

Julie Fanselow started working with Everyday Democracy in 2002, when she spent a week in Connecticut interviewing founder Paul J. Aicher, the staff, and key players from the organization’s early days. The result was the booklet What Democracy Feels Like, which chronicled a small slice of Paul’s life and legacy. After that, Julie began writing feature stories about communities using dialogue-to-change programs to create positive change. By 2007, she had traveled to more than a dozen states to document these successes.

In September 2007, Julie added “online organizer” to her Everyday Democracy portfolio. Recognized by The New York Times as a pioneering blogger on political campaigns, Julie is now taking blogging and online activism in a nonpartisan direction as manager of Everyday Democracy’s DemocracySpace.org blog. Julie is also doing outreach to other online communities and is available to help community organizers set up local blogs. She continues to write for the organization and will help the organization roll out its new name, Everday Democracy.

Julie holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Ohio University. Early in her career, she worked for newspapers in Ohio, Idaho, and Washington state. A successful freelance writer since 1991, she has authored or co-authored more than a dozen books and hundreds of magazine articles. Julie lives in Boise, Idaho, with her husband Bruce Whiting and their daughter Natalie.