Alumna and former student body president returns to FLC as a trustee

Julie (Levy) Duvall is back in the boardroom where she served as Fort Lewis College 2004-05 student body president, now taking a seat at the table as the newest member of the Board of Trustees. Duvall was appointed by Colorado Governor Jared Polis and confirmed by the Colorado Senate as an FLC trustee this spring.

Duvall (Political Science, ’05) currently works at Facebook where she leads Community Escalations, a global team that manages high impact and challenging issues facing users, the company, and the public. Previously, she served as State Director for U.S. Senator Michael Bennet, leading his work in Colorado to close the opportunity gap, build strong constituent services, and create coalitions to tackle complex problems. Duvall has also held various positions in the private sector, including the financial and energy industries, focusing on investor relations, corporate social and environmental responsibility, and public affairs.

During her time at FLC, Duvall developed the foundation that would serve as her launching pad into those career paths. Duvall was a Political Science student at FLC who was passionate about the environment—she was PR Director at the Environmental Center for nearly four years—and dedicated to representing her peers as student body president. 

“In my student leadership roles at FLC, I learned how important it is to build trust with the people you are working with, and how authentic relationships help drive real progress,” says Duvall. “Learning how to listen, plan, and act in systems and institutions has served me in a lot of ways in my life since being a student.”

As a trustee, she’s keeping in mind her experience as a student but recognizes how much the campus and community have changed in the last 15 years. “I don’t want to assume that students are having the same experience I did,” says Duvall. Rather, she’s seeking out the views of students, staff, and faculty who are on campus today to inform and guide her work as a trustee.

With fresh eyes and open ears, Duvall is joining three important conversations happening at FLC right now—affordable housing, advancing academic success and the student experience through the strategic plan, and reconciliation of the College’s racialized history. Duvall has experience leading projects to support family access to stable housing and served two terms with the Durango 9-R Board of Education. Regarding housing and the strategic plan, she is already seeing progress toward action that will have a meaningful impact on students and employees.

Reconciliation, however, is a new area for her.

“Reconciliation is really important to students, to the broader community, and to the societal conversation beyond our campus,” says Duvall. “I’ve been listening to and learning so much from other board members and other leaders in this space. I’ve been taking opportunities for self-reflection and thinking a lot about how FLC can play an important role in the modern-day conversation about systemic racism and how we can engage our students and leadership in ways that can set examples for other institutions moving forward.” 

And Duvall is always up for a good conversation. One thing she appreciates from her time as a student at FLC is how responsive the administration and faculty were to students, and she sees that same characteristic in today’s leadership as well. 

“I’m excited to hold the door open between the student body and FLC leadership. And it’s not just an open door to talk, it’s an open door to get engaged and do something cool and meaningful,” she says. “I’m looking forward to connecting to the current student body, in classrooms, clubs, or over coffee. Reach out—I’d love to talk.”

Duvall currently lives in Denver with her husband Trey and their son.