Recent graduate, Julia Stevens, discusses her political path before and after graduation

Julia Stevens decided to pursue a career in politics as a freshman at UCSB in the aftermath of the 2016 election. She was active in local and statewide environmental advocacy efforts and lobbied at all levels of government with the UCSB Lobby Corps. She credits her experience working on research with UCSB Linguistics Ph.D. candidate Jamaal Muwwakkil and UCSB Political Science Professor Leah Stokes as crucial to finding her niche and preparing her for her future endeavors.

In the Fall of 2018, Julia took academic leave from UCSB to accept a job as campaign staff for the Iowa Democratic Party, working on the midterm elections that yielded a historic “Blue Wave” and set a record for the most women ever elected to the United States Congress. Following the election, Julia spent winter quarter enrolled in the UCDC program, interning in the office of newly elected Iowa Congresswoman Abby Finkenauer. Julia spent her last quarter at UCSB in the Spring of 2019 interning in the office of Congressman Salud Carbajal and conducting research on the historic 2018 campaign cycle. 

Upon graduation, Julia returned to Iowa, where she now works for the Des Moines-based public affairs firm Strategic Elements. She is proud to do work on behalf of the American Wind Energy Association. She is able to work with presidential candidates, and local elected officials, to promote wind energy in the national conversation and make renewable energy a key issue in the Iowa Caucuses. Julia is proud to be a UCSB alum and is forever grateful to the UCSB Political Science Department for their support and kindness.

You can find her on Twitter @jcsstrategies

Julia at the Iowa Democratic Party's Liberty & Justice Dinner, the largest event in the Iowa Caucus, on November 1st, 2019.