“WYA’s clear, unwavering, and universal articulation of the human person captivated me,” shares Julia on her first encounter with WYA. More than two years later, WYA now warmly welcomes Julia Kenney as WYA North America’s new Regional Director. “I stayed with WYA because I wanted to contribute to WYA’s noble mission, receive the formation necessary to serve society as an authentic leader, and experience the fullness of life through authentic friendships.”
Hailing from Livonia, Michigan, Julia graduated from Saint Mary’s College (Notre Dame, IN) with a degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance. Her former work, internship, and volunteer experiences include healthcare administration, direct patient care, athletic administration, and primary and secondary education. Julia first took the WYA internship in early 2016 before serving as the Director for Operations for North America until mid-2018. “I recognized relativism as one of my generation’s greatest challenges in achieving our potential for authentic leadership. WYA struck me as a highly effective way to equip my generation with the formation and skills necessary to be authentic leaders able to foster true development.”
As she steps into her new role as Regional Director, Julia will not only continue her involvement in expanding WYA’s programs. She will also lead the high-quality formation of NA members through focusing on the Certified Training Program and Training of Trainers. She hopes to equip members to analyze according to objective truth and respond with effective person-centered strategies. Furthermore, she will lead developing FEMM and HDC partnerships with other organizations.
“100% correlation” is Julia’s response when asked how WYA’s beliefs connect with her own life. True to this, she identifies the concepts of self-gift, being and becoming, and freedom for excellence as her favorite topics from the Certified Training Program. “These concepts provide a very clear roadmap toward our potential for excellence by breaking down a whole lifetime into a collection of small moments. A disposition of self-gift and dedication to choosing excellence one moment at a time moves us toward our potential for becoming excellent.”
In parting, Julia’s message to WYA members is to continue to strive for excellence. “Maintain for both yourself and others standards of excellence. Always strive toward your potential for excellence and, through your example, inspire others to do the same. I look forward to continue working together as we together pursue our mission, to promote the dignity of every human person.”
