We are pleased to announce that Dr. Julia “Julie” Sonnenberg-Klein, executive director of the Vertically Integrated Projects (VIP) Program, has joined the Office of Undergraduate Education and Student Success (OUESS) in a joint appointment as director of Experiential Learning Strategic Initiatives. Within OUESS, Julie will serve as a member of the E2L team and the OUESS leadership team, supporting division-wide strategic priorities.
As director of Experiential Learning Strategic Initiatives, Julie will identify and advance special projects, strategies, and initiatives related to undergraduate High-Impact Practices (HIPs) and Experiential Learning. She will also work to strengthen collaborations between VIP and the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) to ensure strategic alignment around undergraduate research. Finally, she will have responsibilities supporting our Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP), Leaders in Progress and Service, working closely with Chad Slieper, faculty director, and Dr. Roberta Berry, QEP coordinator and associate vice provost for Undergraduate Education and Student Success.
Julie has been part of the Georgia Tech community since 2004, when she began her career as a project director at our Savannah campus. In 2013, she relocated to Atlanta to work with the Center for Education Integrating Science, Mathematics, and Computing (CEISMC), and in 2017 she joined the VIP program in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) as an academic program manager, where she has progressed in leadership to her current role as executive director and academic professional. Julie’s educational background includes a Ph.D. in Education Policy Studies with a concentration in Research, Measurement and Statistics from Georgia State University; a Master of Education in Education Organization and Leadership from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign; and a Bachelor of Science in Engineering Physics from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. She is a co-author on numerous articles and has presented extensively at national conferences on the VIP program, which received the 2025 University System of Georgia (USG) Regents’ Award for Excellence in High-Impact Practices and Experiential Learning.
Please join us in welcoming Julie to the OUESS team!