Y Stories: Julie Jackson

This month, we are excited to welcome longtime Mid-Willamette Family YMCA member and dedicated community leader Julie Jackson to our YMCA Board of Directors.

Jackson spent a large portion of her career at Republic Services, where she began in outreach and education before serving as the area’s Municipal Manager. Now entering retirement, Jackson is stepping into a new role of service on our YMCA Board. Her involvement in our YMCA, however, spans decades: She has been a member, in some capacity, for well over 20 years. Her first memory of our Y was in the pool when she was about 13 years old, attending swimming lessons through her school. 

Jackson is originally from Southern California and moved to Albany as a teenager. She described coming of age during the Women’s Movement, and how it helped her develop a strong sense of self, along with confidence and tenacity, early in life. With a trailblazing attitude, she was the first girl in Albany to ever run for student body government, noting simply that "no girl ever thought to do it before." She graduated from West Albany High School and Oregon State University and began her career in education.

Jackson loved being a teacher and taught a variety of subjects, including Western Civilization, U.S. history, literature, and home economics. At the same time, she encountered the realities of sexism in the workplace.

“I was teaching at McKay High School in Salem, and during my first meeting with the teachers, some men came to me and said, ‘You’ll be responsible for making the coffee.’ And I said, ‘Well, I don’t really know how to make coffee.’ They said, ‘No, you’ll learn.’ So I made the coffee. It wasn’t good coffee, intentionally, but I made the coffee, and they didn’t ask me again,” Jackson said. “But I mean, that was the world I grew up in. And I have always rallied against that a bit.”

When Jackson had children of her own, she stepped away from teaching. She instead worked as the Historic Resources Coordinator for the Albany Visitors Association before serving as the Executive Director of the Albany Downtown Association, a tenure she held for about eight years. She joined Republic Services after a friend suggested she should apply. That was almost 21 years ago to the day. 

“It was a great move for me. Nobody ever grows up and says, ‘You know what? I’m going to go into the garbage industry.’ And 21 years ago, it wasn’t necessarily a place where women were elevated, but it was a place that let me do that. And the work was fascinating,” Jackson said. 

Throughout her years in Albany, Jackson has witnessed the YMCA’s growth firsthand, including the construction of the current building and the expansion of our facility. When she turned 49, she and her husband decided to join the YMCA as members and came several days a week to work out. During the COVID years, Jackson remained a member, largely because she wanted to support “all the good things that were happening here,” including the programs our YMCA continued to provide to the community.

Republic Services has been a steadfast supporter of our YMCA, sponsoring several events throughout the years, including this year’s Albany Community Carnival & Great Platypus Drop. Through her work with Republic Services, Jackson was instrumental in helping our YMCA receive Republic Services’ National Neighborhood Promise Grant, which funded our All-Adaptive and Inclusive Playground. The grant was incredibly competitive, particularly during the year it was awarded. Coming out of the pandemic, the company only funded five projects across the nation.

“Initially, our grant request was thrown out. It didn’t make the cut to get into the finalists. And that was when we got together with Carson, Tino, and Chris and said, wait a minute. We called the company and said, ‘We’re going to make a better case for this.’ And once they really started to understand what that looked like, they were one-hundred percent all in, because the company is committed to families and communities,” Jackson said. 

Spanning 7,200 square feet, the playground features fully customized equipment, including ramps, a wheelchair-accessible merry-go-round, adaptive swings, and interactive elements designed for children of all abilities. Jackson’s work also created a ripple effect—her Montana counterpart was able to receive a similar grant for a YMCA playground there, using our project as a blueprint. 

Today, Jackson continues to utilize our YMCA not just for exercise, but also for her family. She often brings her two grandchildren to the facility. They spend time in the pool, play on the playground, and participate in several YMCA programs, including Tots Tumbling, Basketball, and Soccer. Jackson said she is grateful for the Y and the services it provides to the community. 

“The playground is really cool, and I think all kids love it universally. Both of my grandchildren love it here,” Jackson said. “It’s awesome. We’re really proud to have been a part of it.”

Jackson also shared what she called an “Albany story,” which encapsulates what she values most about the community. In 2008, she had a conversation with Annette Hobbes, who, at the time, was the head of Fish of Albany. 

“Annette said, ‘Albany is a really good place to be if you are in need.’ That’s been my impression all along. Albany is quietly generous. It isn’t somebody looking for recognition. There are so many generous people who want things like the YMCA and the Boys & Girls Club to keep happening, and they are willing to put their money where their mouth is,” Jackson said. “That’s partly why I love the Y, and it’s why I love living here.”

In her retirement, Jackson is looking forward to continuing her service through board leadership and supporting the Albany community in new capacities. 

“Just because I’m retiring from the workplace doesn’t mean that I’m done trying to do good things in the world. The older you get, the more reflective you get about that kind of stuff. It’s just how it works. And if you have any adversity in your life, all of those things make up who you are,” Jackson said.  “I think for me, I have to give back to something. People and things have been really good to me—how can I do that for other people? I see being on the board as a really easy conduit for that. It’s all good stuff."