How a Senior Manager Became a Champion for Women in IT
The applause started with one man.
Kevin Gravel—the supportive friend and personal cheerleader who’d spent months pestering Julie to stop rehearsing her speech and “Just speak from the heart, Arp!”—was on his feet before she’d even finished her closing line.
Then the entire room followed suit.
Chairs pushed back, hands flew up, and the event space at the Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel erupted into a roar that lasted nearly a minute. Arp hadn’t been expecting a standing ovation, but there it was: hundreds of her colleagues at the National Association of State Technology Directors (NASTD) Annual Conference, pouring out their support for the woman who had just poured out her heart onstage.
Only a few moments earlier, Arp had stood before everyone with a fully scripted speech scribbled on a crinkly piece of paper, one she’d been carrying around and reciting in her head for weeks (much to the chagrin of consultative Kevin).
But when it came time to speak, Arp did something brave. She tore her gaze from the paper, crumpled it into a ball, and set it confidently aside. What was supposed to be a tidy retrospective of the trailblazing Women in IT community she’d spent four years building from the ground up had become something else entirely—a nod to a heartwarming legacy, one that warranted more than a scripted delivery.
As Arp grasped the podium, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath before serving up a warm smile…and the best speech she’s given in her entire life. The words she hadn’t realized she’d been so ready to say suddenly began flowing naturally.
Arp named the mentors who’d shaped her along the way. She told the stories she’d been too nervous to include in the original draft. She gazed out at a packed room that was hanging on her every word, and worked her way to a closing line that left everyone inspired.
Then came a surprise.
The next evening, during NASTD’s annual awards ceremony, Arp’s name was called yet again—this time as the recipient of the inaugural Special Interest Group Award—for her role in creating the Women in IT community. Nobody in the room knew it was coming.
Still grateful from the warm community response the evening before, shock flashed across Arp’s face and her hand flew over her mouth as colleagues from all around the room erupted into applause once again, excitedly urging the Senior IT Manager back toward the stage.
She was happy to oblige.
Arp broke into a full-on sprint, high-fiving everyone in her path like a contestant on The Price Is Right who’d just been chosen to “come on down!” And by the time she was back onstage and the award plopped into her hands, she was beaming uncontrollably—still catching her breath, still not quite believing all of it was real.
It’s a fitting image, really: Arp standing on that stage a second time, equal parts poised leader and unfiltered joy. It’s also the perfect place to begin her story. Because everything that had led to that moment—the career, the courage, the Women in IT community she’d made a reality—paints the picture of a remarkable woman who spent much of her life searching for something that was within her all along.
Her voice.
Julie Arp beams after accepting the inaugural NASTD Special Interest Group Award, recognizing her leadership in creating and championing the Women in IT community.
From Wyoming to North Dakota
Long before she spurred a ballroom of technology leaders to their feet, Arp was an Enterprise Architect for the State of Wyoming, where she spent 17 years building a career in public sector technology. It was there that she became Wyoming’s voting member for NASTD, connecting her with counterparts from across state government.
Through NASTD, Arp eventually met Ryan Kramer and Dwayne Schell, two NDIT colleagues who quickly became close friends and mentors. So when Kramer needed a leader for NASTD’s Western region, he couldn’t think of anyone better. He asked Arp, and she said yes.
Along the way, Kramer and Schell began planting another seed: Come work for the State of North Dakota.
“If the situation’s ever right, I can move,” she recalls telling them.
It didn’t take long for the situation to feel right.
Arp joined NDIT in January 2022, bringing with her a wealth of experience—and a leadership philosophy that would affect NDIT for the better.
Arp enjoys one of her favorite ways to recharge—spending time outdoors—with fellow NASTD friends, combining her love of the outdoors with the friendships she’s made throughout her career.
Why NDIT?
Ask Arp why she left a familiar state and career for North Dakota, and her answer comes quickly.
“NDIT is known for setting a vision and executing on it,” she says. “A lot of states aren’t able to do that the way we do here.”
She also points to NDIT’s modern approach to things like remote work and hiring practices. “I’ve loved working remotely. I haven’t had a hitch.”
That vision and flexibility are part of why NDIT has been named a Top 10 Workplace by the Bismarck-Mandan Young Professionals Network two years running, recognition Arp sees reflected in the agency’s strong benefits, its trust in team members, and the meaningful work people are empowered to do.
But ask her what she loves most about the job, and it isn’t a system or a strategy. It’s the people.
Since joining the State of North Dakota, the Wyoming native has embraced the state’s quirks and traditions—from learning Scandinavian last names and discovering unfamiliar foods and holiday traditions to realizing that seemingly everyone in Bismarck owns a boat for river and lake fun.
Additionally, Arp has developed a deep appreciation for her team. And it shows.
When transitioning from a previous role, one team member gave Arp a note thanking her for trusting their decisions and allowing them to shine. She’s since carried those words with her, using them to form a meaningful mantra: “I trust my team’s decisions. I want them to shine.”
It’s the same instinct that would eventually lead Arp to advocate for women across the technology industry.
For Arp, one of the best parts of NDIT is the people. Here, she shares a moment with fellow NDIT team members at the NASTD Annual Conference, capturing the camaraderie and culture she’s come to value since joining the agency.
Beyond the Office
Arp describes herself as a front-range mountain girl at heart. She’s an avid outdoorswoman who can cook confidently over a campfire but readily admits she’s hopeless in a kitchen otherwise. (Unless someone hands her a cheat sheet.)
She’s a Colorado State University grad who spent the first decade of her career in public accounting, selling enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems back when networking was brand new. From there, Arp moved into state government, eventually landing in the ERP and enterprise architecture work that would carry her to the State of North Dakota.
At home in Wyoming, in addition to two “fur babies,” Arp’s a proud mom to two daughters, both of whom recently completed their master’s degrees, a milestone she jokes means they’ll finally start paying for their own cell phone plans. All kidding aside, they’re a big part of why advocating for women has always been so important for her.
Arp with her family, whose love and encouragement have supported her throughout her career and inspired her commitment to helping others find their own voice.
An Idea Born Over Lunch
During her time leading NASTD’s Western region, one of Arp’s duties was to help plan a regional seminar. She was excited to take on the work, but after spending years in NASTD circles, she’d noticed something glaring: there simply weren’t many women in the room.
It was time to change that.
Women were earning roughly 51% of STEM degrees nationally, but far more of them were landing in health care than in IT. So when organizers requested Arp’s help in addressing the matter, she asked for something small—a one-hour lunch. Simply a chance to start the conversation about women in IT.
“I’m a little bit savvy in being a change agent like that,” she says with an eager smile.
That 60 minutes quickly became a movement, with the conversation spanning NASTD’s Western region. Then it reached the Midwest region. And before anyone knew it, NASTD was hosting its first-ever all-female panel at the national annual event, drawing hundreds of attendees.
It was turning into a huge success, but Arp wasn’t finished. Not by a long shot.
By her fourth year, she had developed a full curriculum and helped formalize the effort into an official NASTD Special Interest Group: Women in IT, which eventually became Women in IT 2.0.
The group began meeting every other month, bringing in guest speakers and welcoming both state employees and vendors. It became a place to talk openly about mentorship, allyship, and what it actually takes to support women pursuing careers in technology.
The idea that started with a single lunch had grown into a community with a life of its own, and it was largely thanks to Arp.
With her heart on display, Arp shares her passion for building a stronger, more supportive future for women in IT during an NASTD presentation.
Speaking From the Heart
The standing ovation still feels surreal to Arp. But perhaps what means even more is knowing that the moment wasn’t really about her. It was about a message she’d spent years helping build, and the people she hopes will carry it forward.
Earlier that same event, keynote speaker and former NFL player Matt Mayberry had spoken about culture—how real change starts at the top, gets launched, cascades downward, and becomes lasting when it is embedded. Arp had borrowed that framework, tweaking it slightly to make it her own.
“When you think about it, we all have the ability to act as a head coach,” she says, “and the job of the head coach is to keep the playbook moving forward and keep the strategy right. That’s what I aimed to do with Women in IT.”
Arp has certainly inspired others to carry the vision forward, leaving a lasting mark on NASTD’s culture. And in the days following the conference, she shared her appreciation for that sentiment on LinkedIn. The post quickly blew up, with congratulatory comments flowing in from industry colleagues who had watched her work.
“Well-deserved!” “You’re an inspiration!” “Keep up the amazing work!” Her NDIT team shared the love, too.
But one particular side comment captured it all.
“She’s a stellar voice for women in IT.”