Julie graduated as a teacher, but after a year, she began a 32 year career in policing; in 2005, she was appointed Chief Constable of Cambridgeshire. Julie was awarded an OBE for her management of complex and contentious organisational issues, leadership of Thames Valley’s contribution to the operations to protect Heathrow and the Queen Mother’s funeral, her work for the ACPO Terrorism and Allied Matters Committee on Royalty and VIP Protection and her strong leadership and determination in taking forward the Gender Agenda and the development of the British Association of Women in Policing (BAWP), which have both become major drivers for gender equality in British policing. In 2008 she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Laws by Anglia Ruskin University, and in 2010 she received the Queens Police Medal (QPM). In 2010, Julie retired from policing and embarked on balancing a portfolio career with extensive travelling. Her current roles include being Chairman of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS (mental health) trust and director at Julie Spence Ltd. She is a trustee for Ormiston Families, a charity which supports young people that others don’t reach, and is chair of the Cambridge branch of Wellbeing of Women, a charity which fundraises for research into conditions affecting women. Julie was appointed as Lord Lieutenant of Cambridgeshire in 2016, a role she will hold until 2030.
