Julie Vanneste

SPP Environmental Planner
Washington State Department of Corrections

Julie has been the Sustainability Coordinator for the Department of Corrections (DOC) since 2008 and is responsible for leading the agency’s sustainability planning and reporting efforts. She loves coming to work every day to help coordinate and direct all the enthusiasm and great ideas in Washington’s DOC to further efforts toward environmental and social responsibility. Julie touches nearly every aspect of the DOC’s facilities and operations; she helps find ways to reduce landfill costs, increase energy efficiency, decrease fuel consumption, reduce clothing costs and reduce prisons’ impact on the environment. Julie doesn’t think of herself as a “Mary Poppins” figure of sustainability that swoops in with all the answers, but rather a collaborator and coordinator, connecting people and ideas across prisons, agencies and organizations. Prior to working for Corrections Julie worked as an Oil Spill Contingency Plan Manager for Washington’s Department of Ecology. She earned her bachelor’s degree from The Evergreen State College, and her Masters from the University of St Andrews, Scotland.