Julian is a child development specialist and addictions counselor with over a decade of experience working in both clinical and educational settings. He earned his Master’s in child development from the Erikson Institute in Chicago and his post-Master’s certificate in “Clinical Approaches to the Addictions” from the NYU Silver School of Social Work.

Julian is currently a Clinical Coordinator at the Strong Starts Court Initiative, a program within the Center for Court Innovation that supports families with children 0 to 3 within in the family court system.

Prior to joining the Strong Starts team, Julian served as the Admissions Manager at Greenhope Services for Women, a mother-and-child residential drug treatment program in East Harlem. Julian helped develop a SAMHSA-funded recovery support program for women impacted by addiction, HIV, and trauma called B-WEL at The Family Center in Brooklyn. During this role, Julian co-presented at SAMHSA’s Behavioral Health Conference on the topic of “Developing a Trauma-Informed Organization.” Other experience includes assessing the quality of early childhood classrooms at Harlem Children’s Zone, teaching music to preschoolers at a Jewish Community Center in Chicago, and volunteering with Sober St. Patrick’s Day, a family-friendly alcohol-free event celebrating Irish culture. Whether it’s supporting parents with their recovery process or assessing a child’s developmental milestones, Julian uses a trauma-informed approach that builds upon a family’s existing strengths and resilience.