Julie K. Ambrose Ph.D.
Bio
Two of my guiding principles are Strive for Excellence and Celebrate Diversity. These have enabled me to serve in leadership and advocacy roles in education, nonprofits and public service achieving positive results.
My goals include sharing the findings of my in-depth policy analysis of the Pennsylvania Educational Improvement and Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit (ETC) program. Pennsylvania's ETC disproportionately concentrates benefits among large businesses and non-profits, wealthier individuals receiving the tax credit through a Special Purpose Entity, and families that could choose private schools without tax credit scholarship assistance. Evidence does not support the claim that this program helps low-income students escape "failing" schools. Rather, barriers to access appear to have a de-democratizing effect particularly among low-income communities.
​
My service in K-12 public education ranges from two elected terms including years as Vice President on the Board of Directors for the Allentown School District with associated responsibilities at the Lehigh Career and Technical Institute to numerous roles as a parent representative on Allentown school reform committees and Parent-Teacher organizations. I enjoy working in the space that links higher education to K-12 education and workforce development.
Education
I completed a doctorate in Administration and Leadership at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. The multidisciplinary, cohort based program prepared organizational development leaders in the nonprofit, education and government sectors. Prior to that I earned a Master of Science degree in Counseling for Higher Education from West Chester University, and graduated as a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Phi Kappa Phi with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Villanova University.
Employment
Currently, I serve as executive director of the Allentown School District Foundation, a 501c3 not-for-profit that raises funds and manages programming for students in the Allentown School District. I taught in the Bachelor of Applied Science in Technical Leadership program at Bloomsburg University. Prior to that I served as the Project Research and Evaluation Specialist on a $600,000 National Science Foundation S-STEM grant (NSF #1153701), and launched the ePortfolio initiative for faculty and students at Lehigh Carbon Community College. I also created and implemented the Senior Year Experience based on the Presidential Task Force recommendations at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, PA.