Nonprofit Consultant helping leaders find the way forward
Julie Edlund
Julie’s career in nonprofit leadership began long before she became a consultant. From volunteering with adults with disabilities in college to founding and leading her own nonprofit, she has spent more than three decades working alongside organizations and communities to create meaningful change.
Hello From Julie
The Experience Behind the Work
She has served as an executive director, program leader, and founder across disability services, youth development, healthcare, and community organizations. Along the way, she has led turnarounds, built organizations from the ground up, developed leaders and teams, raised funds, navigated mergers, and expanded programs to reach more people.
Today, Julie brings that experience to nonprofit leaders who need a partner who understands both the big picture and the work required to make it happen.
Return on impact
517%
Expanded services and increased access to programs across the Kansas City region
$50M
Grew Life Unlimited through strategic growth, new programs, and mergers
5
Led successful nonprofit mergers through complex organizational and leadership transitions
$100K
Turned a significant operating loss
into a sustainable surplus in less
than a year
The Partner You Need to Move Forward
When the stakes are high, experience matters. Julie has spent more than 30 years leading nonprofits through growth, turnarounds, mergers, operational challenges, and change. She knows what it takes to make difficult decisions, bring people with you, and turn a vision into meaningful, sustainable impact.
She doesn't just know what should work. She's made it work.
She's Been in the Seat
More than 30 years of nonprofit leadership means firsthand experience with the decisions, limited resources, competing priorities, and pressures that come with leading an organization.
She's Seen the Whole Picture
From operations, staffing, programs, fundraising, and finances to boards, mergers, growth, and turnarounds, Julie understands how the pieces of an organization connect - and how to find the real issue when it isn't where it first appears.
She Has the Results
ESP's approach is grounded in a track record you can measure: four successful mergers, a 517% expansion in services, growth from $4 million to $28 million, and turning a $450,000 operating loss into a surplus in less than a year.
Moving Impact Froward
The best solutions start with understanding the whole organization -and bringing the right people to the table.
Listen First
Every organization is different. We take the time to understand the people, challenges, and circumstances behind the numbers so you can see what needs to change.
Plan With Purpose
And strategy should do more than look good on paper. We help turn ideas into clear priorities, practical steps, and action your team can carry forward.
Experience You
Can Put to Work
Julie founded ESP to bring the kind of practical, experienced partnership she wished more nonprofit leaders had access to.
Today, Edlund Strategy Partners brings that perspective to organizations ready to make better decisions, strengthen their teams, and move their mission forward.