Originally published in June 2019 Newsletter

Julia Peloso-Barnes loves to tell stories, and if you spend time with her, stories literally tumble out of her.  She has a big smile that she flashes often while she tells of momentous softball games, outdoor adventures with friends or events she has organized over the years.  Julia joined the Hope’s Door Board of Directors in February of 2017 and has served as board treasurer, close watcher of the bottom line, and self-designated storyteller ever since.  Julia’s career in financial services began in 1984.  Her first love has always been teaching, and she works collaboratively with her clients.  Julia’s problem-solving relies on education and simplifying complexity as she helps clients turn their financial dreams into reality.  Her personal experiences inform Julia’s relationships with her LGBTQ clients as she helps them traverse the rapidly evolving landscape of financial and estate planning. 

Julia earned her BS from Iona College and her MBA at NYU Stern School of Business while working full-time as a Financial Advisor.  Julia holds multiple professional accreditations including Certified Financial Planner® and Accredited Domestic Partnership Advisor.®

Julia is a member of the Estate Planning Council of Westchester and is also on the Board of Directors.  As a Financial Planner and portfolio manager, she accepted the higher standards of a fiduciary many years ago; her clients’ financial goals and aspirations are her top priority.

Service is a value with which Julia was raised.  Since the 1990’s she has helped create multiple events that combined social activities with fundraising, co-founded the Gotham Sports Association and spent several years as a member of ARCS’ Personal Experience Speakers Bureau.

She is a past board member and past board president of The Loft: LGBT Community Services Center. One of Julia’s goals as a Hope’s Door Board member is to find ways for Hope’s Door counselors and staff to collaborate with The Loft on advocacy issues and develop future joint projects together.

As a Westchester County, NY native, Julia and her wife are pleased to own the home in which she grew up.  Julia and Patty both come from large families; Patty was born and raised in Eugene, Oregon.  They divide most of their free time between friends and family locally, in Florida and the Pacific Northwest.