Julie Baeb is a skilled design-thinker, facilitator and educator who brings expertise in human-centered design, crowd-sourced innovation and community engagement.  Her careers in education, design and client service culminated in her dream job at TeamWorks, where she started in the fall of 2022. 

Julie is skilled at workshop facilitation, qualitative design research, community engagement, strategic planning and giving clients the tools and creative confidence to find innovative solutions grounded in empathy and equity. 

Julie spent nine years at Minnetonka Public Schools where she played a pivotal role in the district’s crowd-sourced innovation program. She coached student innovation teams and staff “idea champions” to gain empathy for end-users, develop ideas grounded in user insights, and ultimately develop and test prototypes for feedback and proof of concept. She also created a STEM-based enrichment program using her architecture background to meet the needs of visual-spatial learners, and coached teachers on ways to enhance curriculum with maker-space tools and human-centered design. 

During her time at Minnetonka, Julie also utilized her architecture background in leading professional development sessions and “Design for Learning” teacher cohorts to help staff assess, reimagine  and optimize their learning spaces for desired teaching and learning outcomes  and experiences.  

For her innovative work in Minnetonka Schools, Julie received the Minnetonka Public Schools Award of Excellence and Innovation Partner of the Year as well as Design and Innovation Global’s Cultural Transformation award.  She has also presented applications for human centered-design in education at architectural and educational conferences.

Prior to her work in Minnetonka Schools, Julie worked at architectural firms Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and Scrafano Architects, and advertising agency Leo Burnett.  Julie holds a Masters Degree in Architecture from Rhode Island School of Design, received her Human Centered Design training from Stanford d.School and is a certified facilitator through Voltage Control.  She received her bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from Drake University.