Comments shared at time of the Award: To be considered for this award, the nominee shall have performed diligent and faithful service for an Exempt Charitable Organization which is organized and operated to (I) alleviate human suffering or enhance the quality of life of persons afflicted with illness or injury, or (II) promote wellness through prevention of illness, disease or injury so that they are advancing the mission of the St. Joseph Community Health Foundation and the Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ.

Allow me to introduce Julie Nay Winn. Julie joined the staff of the Foundation on December 1, 2008, moving her family to Fort Wayne from Springfield, IL so that she could work at the Community Resource Center for Refugees to assist the large number of Burmese refugees from her homeland.

While she has been here, “Aunty Julie” as she is known has:

• welcomed approximately 25,000 visitors annually at Catherine Kasper Place, directing them to programming;
• used her tri-lingual skills in English, Burmese and her native ethnic group “Karen” to translate letters and documents, set up appointments, and generally assist in communicating with local community resources
• taught English classes at her parish, the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception;
• helped organize the National Conference of Burmese-American Catholics, with several hundred members from around the U.S. meeting twice annually in Fort Wayne and to which she was elected Vice Chair;
• volunteers on Monday evenings as an interpreter for Super Shot; and
• serving as one of the organizers of the local Karen group.

She is also a wonderful mother to three grown children here in the U.S., whom she says she prodded to learn English, and the wife to the late Nay Winn. She also has a daughter and a grandson in Thailand who are waiting in a refugee camp with a dream to move to this country to be re-united with the rest of her family. Julie’s resume is an incredible read. Beginning with being sent to St. John’s Convent Girls boarding school with the Sisters at age six, to earning a Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry, then to working at the U.S. Embassy in Burma from 1988 to 1990 shortly after the historic August 8, 1988 revolution in that country. Later she served for 10 years with the World Health Organization in Burma, assisting with the management and fiscal administration of the 38 health programs.

In May 2002 she immigrated to the U.S. with her husband and three of her children. On September 4, 2009, she became a U.S. Citizen. Fort Wayne and the St. Joseph Community Health Foundation have been fortunate to have Julie as an important part of our team!