Julie Mozena, Caring.com author

Leveraging more than 20 years of fund-raising experience, Julie Mozena's expertise in grant writing, research, strategic planning, and training has helped a wide range of nonprofits, school districts, and government agencies around the nation raise more than $60 million in new funding. Julie holds a degree in English from UCLA and is a talented program designer, writer, facilitator, trainer, and presenter. She has conducted trainings for numerous organizations, including the Center for Volunteer and Nonprofit Leadership, the American Association of Grant Professionals, the Association of Fundraising Professionals, the Superior Courts of California, First 5 San Francisco, and the City of Oakland. She has acted as a grant reviewer for the AmeriCorps program and many other government and nonprofit agencies.

In recent years Julie has served in leadership positions on the boards of the Marin Association of Female Executives (MAFE), a networking organization, and Street Smart 4 Kids, a nonprofit that partners with restaurants to raise funds for homeless and at-risk youth. In 2008 she became a charter member of the American Association of Grant Professionals, NorCal Chapter.

Julie is part of the "sandwich generation," as the mother of two middle school-age children and part-time caregiver for her aging father. In her spare time, she plays a lot of soccer when not driving her children to sporting activities or helping her dad with endless amounts of paperwork. She belongs to both a book club and a movie club, because she needs her "girlfriend time." In addition, Julie volunteers for school-related projects and fund-raisers, including coordinating a volunteer program that she implemented at her children's school to help students who are struggling with staying organized.

WHY I CARE

"Before my mom died, her big plan was to outlive my dad. Turns out it didn't work out that way. Now my sister and I are joint caregivers to our 87-year-old father, who suffers from Parkinson's. I've learned a lot in the past few years about the joys and challenges of caring for a loved one while also trying to keep some semblance of balance in my life as a working mom. In addition, many of my friends now are joining me as part of the 'sandwich generation' as they care for their parents suffering from chronic disease (mostly Alzheimer's), so the issue of long-term caregiving becomes more relevant to me every day.

What has become clear to me is that copious amounts of patience and humor go a long way to making things easier, along with paying close attention to what our loved ones want. What I've found is that what's most important to my Dad is a sense of his own autonomy, even as he finds himself trapped in an uncooperative body. I do the best I can to support him in the choices he wants to make, while also trying to keep him healthy and safe. What I really appreciate about Caring.com is that it provides the resources and support that caregivers like me can use to educate ourselves. Armed with this information, we can help our loved ones maintain a level of independence and at the same time help ourselves maintain our equilibrium, so we can be there for our parents, our spouses, our children, and, most important, ourselves."