Keynote Speaker
Julie Duty
Founder and Executive Director of United Sound, Inc.
Julie Duty completed her undergraduate degree at Arizona State University in 1998, earning a Bachelor of Music in Music Education. She then taught high school and middle school band and served as a mentor teacher for nine years in Arizona. Julie founded United Sound, Inc. in 2014 and currently serves as the Executive Director, working with teachers, parents, and administrators to bring meaningful participation and inclusivity to the instrumental music classroom. United Sound was created with the goal of developing relationships between students with and without disabilities and providing them with the opportunity to build self-esteem, self-confidence, friendships, and a sense of belonging through music. In its first seven years, over 8,000 students have participated in United Sound and they have logged over 213,000 relationship-building, music-making hours together. Julie holds an executive scholar certificate in nonprofit management from the Kellogg Executive Education program at Northwestern University. She is also a highly sought after speaker and guest lecturer and has presented over 100 clinics and keynote addresses at universities, state and national music education conferences, and school district-wide professional development events. Julie is still an active musician, performing as a member of the Tempe Winds for the last 24 years. She also serves as a member of The Midwest Clinic Advisory Board, Music for All’s Advocacy in Action Committee, The Institute for Composer Diversity Advisory Council, and as the Vice Chair of the Tempe Winds Board of Directors.