Julie Lause is the co-founder of Crescent City Schools and the Principal of Harriet Tubman Charter School. Under her leadership, Harriet Tubman exited failing status and went from a grade of F to a grade of C (and School Performance Score of 55 to 77) in just two years. Julie has taught and lead in New Orleans public, private, and charter schools for the past 20 years. She was the Dean of Faculty at New Orleans Summerbridge, taught math at Thurgood Marshall Middle School, and taught English and history at Metairie Park Country Day School, where she later became the school’s Director of Diversity and Assistant to the Head of School. In 2005, Julie was on the founding faculty at the KIPP transformation school in New Orleans that, after Hurricane Katrina, relocated to Houston, Texas to serve displaced New Orleans students. Julie was an assistant principal there at NOW College Prep, and went on to complete the Fisher Fellowship, founding KIPP Central City Academy in 2007. Julie served as Director of Organizational Development at FirstLine Schools, where she supported curriculum development, coordinated a network-wide formative assessment program, and supported the growth and expansion of the organization and its two K-8 charter schools. Working for New Schools for New Orleans, Julie coached new charter school principals on school leadership and raising student achievement.

Since its takeover, Harriet Tubman Charter School has been recognized for advancing a positive school culture, supporting teacher growth and development, and achieving academic gains. Harriet Tubman received the Achievement Network School Impact Award in 2012 and the OPEN (Orleans Public Education Network) Teachers First Award in 2014. In 2013, Julie and Kate Mehok received the Entrepreneur To Watch award from the New Schools Venture Fund.Julie received a BA in Psychology from the University of California, Santa Cruz, an MA in English from Middlebury College, and an EdM in Educational Leadership from National Louis University.