our story

father and daughter

From Julie:

“My Dad and I have always been close - while he might not have always been around when I was little, because he was working so hard, when he was there he was really there. Fully present. Whether we were playing outside in the Boston snow, or he was coaching my soccer team, or teaching me to go crabbing on Cape Cod, I always looked up to him, and his approval meant everything. As I got older, I loved realizing that we were a lot alike, and I thought “wow, if I can be kind of like him, I guess I’m doing OK!” We would talk about books, politics, and business - I loved hearing about his work. I spent my 20s in London, and he was supportive when I decided to pursue my Ph.D. in Literature - in fact, I think he’s the only person outside of my university who has read my Ph.D. thesis cover to cover! We still have a great time together, and can just as easily talk about our lives, our work, or get a little silly as we try to sing all the parts to ‘One Day More.’

We’ve obviously taken different career paths. I was lured by the siren song of the humanities, and am so grateful for how hard my dad and mom have worked to give me the privilege of a great education and the ability to travel and to study what I want. To paraphrase John Adams, my dad studied finance (commerce) so I might study literature and philanthropy (poetry).

I’m thrilled to join him at Barton Business Consulting, and think we can continue to grow the consulting practice he’s started into something special. Our skills really compliment each other. He’s a numbers and operations guy, with a lifetime’s experience in domestic and international markets. I obviously don’t have as much experience yet, but have had a varied career working for regional, national, and international nonprofits, serving on boards, and participating in, developing, and facilitating leadership development programs around the country. I really believe in the strengths-based model, and think that by he and I each leaning into our strengths we can together be greater than the sum of our parts.”

From fran:

“One of my favorite memories with Julie is when we climbed Mt Washington together. Julie was more into music and I was more of a businessman, and through that probably neither one of us was qualified to do this adventure. We weren’t really sure of what we had gotten ourselves into. As the rain pelted down, and the mud became more slippery, I kept asking her if she wanted to turn back. She said “no, we’re going to do this.” We actually made it, had fun, ate the best peanut butter sandwich ever, and I formed a new admiration of her as a person who has strength and determination to follow through on challenges.

She has shown me that inner strength many times over the years. With each new mountainous task she achieves, my admiration of her continues to grow. In addition to her hardworking ethics, I am also inspired and impressed by her high-level thinking—she is always asking the big-picture questions and can easily see how all the parts fit together to make a bigger whole. She also has an innate ability to balance all sides of an issue and present a fair solution to any problem. Even as a young child, I nicknamed her “Judge Julie.”

As someone who has spent a career in finance, dealing with numbers and operations, I’m excited to work with Julie at Barton Business Consulting. It’s great to have someone to work with who will ask great questions and provide perspective, bringing empathy and thoughtfulness to a problem.”

We would love to help you reach your goals, whether they are to grow your company, grow your nonprofit, or grow your impact.

Learn more about Fran and our Financial Consulting services here.

Learn more about Julie and our Philanthropy Consulting services here.

Contact us to schedule a call!