Prior to her position with Focus on the Family, Julie lived in Dallas, Texas, where she served as Executive Director of the Prestonwood Pregnancy Center.  In 1990, Julie helped organize and start this center while also assisting other groups in starting their own centers.  She was the Director of Education and Wellness at the Minirth-Meier Clinic in Richardson, Texas before working with the Prestonwood Pregnancy Center.  Julie spent 15 years with Dallas’ Bible Study Fellowship as a discussion leader and later a teaching leader.

Julie has a passion for the sake of the unborn because of the foundational premise that life is sacred.  "Abortion is the beginning of a slippery slope," says Julie.  "If life is not valuable in the womb, then why is it valuable outside the womb?"  She also feels that pregnancy centers have an exciting and unique opportunity to reach one heart at a time, speaking truth into the lives of seeking young women at a crisis point in their lives.  "There is no other ministry that is so exciting and at the same time so challenging as working in a pregnancy resource center," Julie recounts.

She emphasizes the spiritual aspect of abortion, helping listeners understand that every abortion decision is a spiritual battle within that woman.  Julie speaks about why women choose abortion, and the spiritual dynamic - the battle between Good and Evil - that is inherent in that process.  She understands the reasons for the spiritual devastation that follows abortions.

Julie earned her Ph.D. in Christian counseling from Andrew Jackson University in Birmingham, Alabama, and a Master's in counseling from the University of North Texas.  She also has an undergraduate degree from Rice University.

Julie and her husband, Paul, have been married for 39 years and have three grown daughters, Betsy, Paula, and Cindy, and five grandchildren, including recently arrived triplets.

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Recently Linda Baniszeski, Board Chairperson of Care Net Pregnancy Center in Kutztown, Pennsylvania, wrote, "Dr. Julie Parton's message at our annual fundraising banquet was the high point of the evening.  Her eloquent, warm and factual presentation encouraged and challenged our donors and church leadership in attendance, while emphasizing the spiritual significance of the mission field in which we serve.  The financial success of the event was in large part due to her presence and message."