Reimagining How We Build Trust in Public Systems
Keynotes and insights and the intersection of policy, finance and human behaviour
Julie's Story
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Years working with IMF, World Bank, USAID and DFAT
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Economic Growth Programs delivered
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Countries where she's has worked
Have you noticed how institutions just aren’t trusted the way they used to be? Governments, businesses, and international bodies - the cracks are showing everywhere. When trust goes, so does performance. Economies stall and societies fracture. Julie knows this better than most. After decades designing and reforming systems across the Middle East, Asia, and the Pacific - for the IMF, World Bank, USAID, and DFAT - she’s seen what makes institutions buckle, and what makes them thrive. An international legend, a systems thinker, and author of Public Financial Management is Sexy, and Trust as Infrastructure.
The Global Trust Crisis
Trust in institutions is collapsing worldwide. According to Edelman's 2025 Trust Barometer, 7 in 10 people believe leaders mislead them. When trust erodes, economies stall, investment disappears, and polarisation deepens. Julie brings urgency and clarity: embed trust at the core of your institutions, and both society and the economy can thrive.
Making Systems Human
Julie is more than a reform insider - she's a storyteller. From Afghan treasurers carrying handwritten ledgers across snowy mountains, to Canadian teenagers staying in school thanks to a guaranteed income - her stories reveal what's truly at stake when trust breaks, and the possibilities when it's built in.
Sir Bani Yas Island Conference, UAE
Afghanistan Central Bank
From Fragile to Flourishing
Julie equips audiences with more than inspiration - she gives them tools. Her Trust Continuum Model shows how organisations and societies progress through three stages of trust. Understanding these stages helps leaders recognise where they are today and what it takes to move forward.
- Fragile - when trust is weak, systems are highly vulnerable. Decisions are second-guessed, reforms stall, and even small shocks can trigger breakdown.
- Functional - trust is present but minimal. Institutions deliver services, but often only at the baseline. People comply because they have to, not because they believe in the system.
- Flourishing - trust becomes a strength. Institutions are resilient, people collaborate, and reform is sustained because communities believe the system is working for them.
By mapping where an organisation sits on this continuum, Julie gives leaders a practical lens to spot risks early, act decisively under pressure, and build institutions that inspire confidence - even in times of uncertainty.
Trust As Infrastructure
Julie's talks leave audiences with practical, actionable outcomes they can apply immediately:
- Spot early warning signs before stress becomes crisis.
- Make trust a measurable driver of performance — not just a slogan.
- Adapt plans under pressure, keeping reforms on track.
- Design beyond compliance, creating systems that inspire belief.
- Rethink trust. Turn trust into a measurable strategic asset.
Julie speaking at a leadership forum in Jordan
A keynote that shifts how your leaders see trust.
