Our Team
Julia Novy-Hildesley, Founder and CEO
Julia founded Resilience in Action to create a groundbreaking platform for leaders worldwide to translate resilience theory into action, enabling them to build the orientations critical to tackling the nature and scale of 21st century challenges.
In addition to her role as Founder and CEO of Resilience in Action, Julia is a Lecturer at Stanford University. Her research and teaching focus on cross-sector partnerships and innovations that accelerate the transition to a sustainable society. Julia was recognized as a distinguished Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in 2010. She served as Topic Leader for the Clinton Global Initiative on “Market-based solutions to environmental challenges.” A Fulbright and Marshall Scholar, Julia earned a B.A. in Human Biology and a Minor in African Studies from Stanford University and her graduate degree in International Development from the Institute for Development Studies at Sussex University in England.
Julia was formerly CEO of Washington STEM, a partnership between Microsoft, Boeing, and the education community to bring business into the classroom and cultivate 21st century skills for underserved youth. She served for a decade as the Founding Executive Director of the Lemelson Foundation, where she spurred innovations in technology, finance, marketing and distribution to advance sustainable development globally. As Director of World Wildlife Fund’s Pacific Marine Office, she helped launch and develop the Marine Stewardship Council - a global partnership with Unilever and other retailers to use certification and eco-labeling as a catalyst for sustainable fisheries.
Julia speaks French, Spanish, and Kiswahili and has worked extensively in developing countries for agencies, including the World Bank, USAID and the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID). Her writing has been published in Innovations Journal, Far Eastern Economic Review, the Journal of Ethnopharmacology, and other publications.
A Fellow of the Donella Meadows Sustainability Leaders Program, Julia was selected as one of Oregon Business Magazine’s “50 Great Leaders for Oregon.” She has served on several boards, including the Harvard Women’s Leadership Board, the Editorial Board of MIT’s Innovations Journal, and the Karuna Foundation. Julia lives in Portland with her husband and two children.
Marissa Luna, Project Manager
Marissa is a creative systems thinker, go-getter, and sustainability leader. As the Resilience in Action Project Manager, she develops and iterates on content for the Journeys, supports the rollout of programming, and collaborates with key stakeholders.
Marissa has explored sustainability in academia, startup, tech, and nonprofit spheres. With this cross-sectoral experience, she takes a holistic approach to sustainability. Some examples of her research include how to advance climate justice in food systems, how to promote equity in global health, and how to uplift women and girls through education, to name a few.
Marissa earned a Master’s degree in Sustainability Science and Practice and a Bachelor’s degree in Science, Technology, and Society from Stanford University. While there, she served as the Co-President of the Stanford Student Alumni Council and the Co-VP of the Social Impact team for the Business Association of Stanford Entrepreneurial Students. Marissa also studied entrepreneurship and innovation abroad at the University of Oxford.
In her free time, Marissa enjoys kickboxing, finding new cuisines to eat, listening to podcasts, and working on her growing list of passion projects.
Safia Barmada, Research Associate
Safia is a high-school student in Portland. She assists Julia and Resilience in Action with administrative and communications-based work as well as conducting research. She is exploring career and education options in environmental science and sustainability and is passionate about conservation and the environment.
Safia enjoys spending time outdoors running, hiking, and backpacking with her dog. She also plays the piano and loves to read.
Program Staff Alumni
Gabriela Leslie, Project Coordinator
Gabriela joined Resilience in Action in 2014, conducting research, developing content, and aiding in project facilitation and execution. She worked to co-create the first Resilience Journey for Young Global Leaders in the Peruvian Amazon alongside Julia and Rainforest Expeditions.
She is a recent graduate of Stanford University, with a B.S. in Earth Systems, an interdisciplinary environmental science program. Her research focus includes land-use change in tropical regions, sustainable commodity crop markets, and promoting healthy socio-ecological systems.
In 2013, she conducted research in Ecuador under professors Eric Lambin and Ximena Rueda on cacao supply chains, land use, and certification markets through the MUIR Woods and SEED programs. In 2012, she received a Chappell-Lougee Scholarship from Stanford to explore farming practices and place-based connections in the Brazilian Cerrado through the media of photography and writing.
Gaby is passionate about environmental reform and social justice, and in her free time is deeply involved in the arts and in civic activism. Currently, she is a candidate for an M.S. in Earth Systems at Stanford University.