Who is Julie Walsh and why is she running?
Julie Walsh is a mother of five children (aged 8 to 15) attending four Carroll County Public Schools. She lives with her husband and children in Mount Airy, where she and her family are deeply involved in their community.
Julie has long been interested in and long had experience with politics, but never saw herself as a potential candidate until the last months of 2025. She came to this decision slowly, after an intense year of advocacy on behalf of the County’s schools, and after recognizing that community members had begun to approach her as a resource and guide.
Raised in a family active in local politics, Julie monitored political news from a young age and went on to study political science in college. She then spent a decade working first for the federal government, and then as a registered lobbyist in Annapolis for a nonprofit.
When Julie’s first child was born in 2010, she left paid work to become a stay-at-home mother. In the years since, Julie has been an active, involved member of her community, volunteering at schools and church and other nonprofits, and taking on leadership roles where such help was needed.
In February of 2025, Julie became aware of the crisis brewing in Carroll County Public Schools regarding the system’s struggle to implement Maryland’s Blueprint for Education. Through her role as PTO president for two of her children’s schools, Julie connected with women across the County who had been following the issue for a while, and she offered them her help. While Julie was new to the subject of Blueprint, she was well acquainted with Annapolis, with the mechanics of legislating, and with political advocacy.
Together, Julie and the other women founded the Carroll Education Coalition. The group encouraged Carroll County’s families to weigh in on both the County and State levels. And Julie herself spoke before the Carroll County Board of Education, the Carroll County Board of Commissioners, the Maryland General Assembly, and Maryland’s Accountability and Implementation Board.
(Please click here to view a video of Julie testifying in Annapolis before a joint hearing of two Senate and two House of Delegates committees.)
Julie, with her coalition partner Lisa Maisano, drove back-and-forth to Annapolis and Westminster, attended public hearings and meetings, made phone calls, and walked the halls of the State Senate and House of Delegates, asking those in power to pay attention to the looming crisis in Carroll.
Thankfully, their efforts – and the efforts of many other committed Carroll County residents – paid off. Carroll County Public Schools was granted a temporary waiver for elements of its Blueprint compliance requirements, and it was sent consultants who are working with the school system to identify a better way of implementing Blueprint in Carroll.
But the challenges for Carroll County Public Schools are not over. Today the school system faces a declining enrollment and a growing financial hole, due in large part to rising costs stemming from inflation. It needs to figure out how to serve Carroll’s students in a way that is consistent with the expectations of County residents. It needs to figure out how to provide for its capital needs related to deteriorating facilities and insufficient building sites. And it needs to wrangle with the increasingly pressing question of the proper role of technology in the classroom.
These challenges – and the people they touch – deserve Board of Education members who will dig in, work hard, collaborate well, and view themselves as passionate advocates for our children and our schools.
If Julie is elected to the Carroll County Board of Education, she will do just that.
More on Julie’s background:
Personal background:
Julie grew up in a rural part of Harford County and frequently visited the home of her farmer-politician grandfather in western Howard County. She was exposed to politics from a young age and always found it fascinating, so she is the odd 40-something who has been closely following politics for more than three decades. In 2001 she earned a Bachelor’s degree in political science and German from Mount Saint Mary’s University. She then spent three years working for the Office of the Inspector General of the U.S. General Services Administration and six years working for the Maryland Catholic Conference. When her first child was born in 2010, Julie left paid work to become a stay-at-home mother. Since then, she has kept herself incredibly busy raising five children and volunteering in her community.
Connection to Carroll:
Julie has lived in Carroll County since 2012, but she has been connected to the County for far longer. Julie’s father grew up in Sykesville, where her grandfather ran the town’s train station for the B&O for many years, and her grandmother ran it while her grandfather was in the Army during World War II. Several parts of Julie’s family live in, or raised their families in Mount Airy, Sykesville, Manchester, Finksburg, and Westminster.
Connection to community:
Julie has long been involved in her churches and communities, and has often participated in or even led their volunteer efforts. She has participated in music ministries for most of her adult life – in college and at three parishes. She helped to lead the young adult ministry at her parish in Annapolis. At her current parish she teaches a faith formation class, serves on a welcoming committee, and participates in the music ministry.
In Annapolis, Julie served for six years on the Board of Trustees of the Charles Carroll House, which was the Annapolis home of the Carroll family, including Carroll County’s namesake, Charles Carroll of Carrollton. She served twice as president of the Executive Board of Lisbon Pre-Kindergarten, where her family was active for a solid decade while all five of her children made their way through preschool. She has been volunteering in Carroll County Public Schools since 2015, and is currently finishing up two years of service as the president of the PTO for Parr’s Ridge and Mt. Airy Elementary Schools.
Julie’s family is also very active in Scouting: all five children are Scouts and her husband is a leader at both the Pack and Troop levels. Between Scouting and their children’s many activities at church and school, the Walshes lead a very busy family life and are very present to their community.
Professional background:
In the Office of the Inspector General of the U.S. General Services Administration, Julie worked to weed out fraud, waste, and abuse, and to make sure her agency was operating as efficiently as possible. She remembers thinking often of her hard-working family members in those days, including her grandfather on his farm. She wanted to honor them with her work, making sure their tax dollars were well spent.
As an associate director of the Maryland Catholic Conference, Julie worked as a lobbyist representing the three (arch)dioceses of Maryland to the Maryland General Assembly. There she became intimately familiar with State politics and the workings of Annapolis. She also got to know nonprofits and advocates throughout the State. Julie frequently partnered with Catholic Charities, other faith groups, and secular service providers and policy organizations. She represented the Maryland Catholic Conference on numerous statewide coalitions, serving as chair of one of them for three years.
Make a Donation
If you support Julie and what she stands for, we would appreciate your financial support. You may make an electronic donation below, or you may mail a check to the address listed.
Friends of Julie Walsh
P.O. Box 1023
Mt. Airy, MD 21771
*When mailing a check, please include a note containing your name, address, occupation, and employer.