Julaine is a native of Atlanta, Georgia, where at the age of 5 months, she was adopted into the loving home of Bob and Mary Appling. Following college, Julaine moved to Wisconsin, where she has lived for most of the intervening years. Her educational background includes a B.A. in Humanities, a B.S. in English Education, and a Master of Science in Educational Administration and Supervision. Through the years she has done additional graduate-level course work at UW-Madison and UW-Milwaukee.
During the nearly 10 years Julaine spent in the classroom in Wisconsin, she taught on the junior high, high school, and college levels. Her primary teaching areas have been history, government, English, and education courses. In addition, for 5 years Julaine was the administrator of a private school; and she has also been office manager for a small law firm in Milwaukee. In October, 1997, Julaine came to work at Wisconsin Family Council (WFC) as Director of Office Operations. She served in that capacity until November, 1998, when she was asked to become president of WFC.
Julaine is a statewide leader in the effort to strengthen, preserve and promote marriage, family, life and religious liberty in Wisconsin. As she says, the entire state of Wisconsin is now her classroom. A 2012 Madison-based publication declared that Julaine “may be the most important social conservative in the state.”
Julaine is regularly sought by media outlets, as well as by civic organizations, churches, and other groups statewide, to speak on various issues impacting Wisconsin’s families.
In 2007, Focus on the Family awarded Julaine, as WFC’s CEO, the Family Policy Council Community Impact Award for her statewide leadership on Wisconsin’s Marriage Protection Amendment. In 2015, Julaine was a finalist for Wisconsin’s Right Women “Iron Lady Award.” In 2022, Christian Home Educators of Wisconsin awarded Julaine its “Bold as Lion Award.”
A strong believer in community involvement, Julaine was twice elected to her local school board and served two terms on the City of Watertown Public Library Board of Trustees, where she was president 2002-2005. Her previous board experience also includes the Wisconsin Coalition Against Gambling Expansion, Wisconsin Abstinence Coalition and the Jefferson County Library Council. Currently she serves on the board of the Christian school that is a ministry of her local church.
