Julie Bennett

Julie Bennett is Director of Marketing and Communications at Goodwill Industries of the Southern Rivers (GoodwillSR) headquartered in Columbus, Georgia.

Julie, who joined the Goodwill leadership team in September of 2013, is a highly skilled marketing executive with over 25 years of experience in a variety of industries including financial services, healthcare technology, software, manufacturing, plastics, sustainable packaging and the non-profit sector.

A former corporate marketing executive and strategic marketing consultant, Julie has also held senior-level positions in the ad agency world. She is skilled at positioning small to mid-sized organizations for growth via the disciplines of strategic planning, corporate positioning, brand/identity development, corporate communications and media/public relations. She is an excellent communicator and leverages her experience from both the client and agency sides of the business to reach out to and communicate effectively with both internal and external audiences.

Over the course of her career, Julie has developed the marketing and communications strategies for an impressive array of both privately-held and publicly-traded companies ranging in size from $30 million to over $12 billion in annual sales, including Axiall Corporation, Creaxion Advertising & Public Relations, Dornier Medical Systems, Georgia Aquarium, Innovia Films, KDA Holdings, RedPrairie Software, South Carolina Federal Credit Union and Thomson-Reuters.

Just prior to joining GoodwillSR full time, Julie worked with the organization as a consultant to lead extensive internal and external brand audits of the organization’s donor, shopper and team member perceptions and to develop a communications strategy and tactical plan to promote awareness, positive market perception and team member engagement.

Today, she is responsible for the development of the organization’s marketing and communications strategy, internal and external messaging, policy recommendations, and overarching strategies that support the growth of the GoodwillSR mission.

Julie graduated with a bachelor’s degree in communications from Kennesaw State University and is a member of the Columbus (GA) Chamber of Commerce, Public Relations Society of America, The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and The Georgia Spay-Neuter Society.

A devoted animal lover, Julie spends her spare time at her home in Powder Springs, Ga with her family and beloved pets. In addition, she serves on the boards of and volunteers for animal rescue groups to raise awareness about pet overpopulation and the benefits of animal rescue, and also provides pro-bono marketing strategy support to a number of non-profits.