Julie Jackson, 49, is the first African-American president of a tech-forward corporate event production company, DEVLINHAIR (DH), a women-owned company in New York City founded by Dorothy Devlin and Barbara Hair. Jackson’s focused, can-do approach to work has led her to the pinnacle of success at DH. With her appointment, she pledged to put diversity at the forefront to help grow the company.
Born in Manhattan and raised in New Rochelle in Westchester, Jackson’s was the only Black family in the neighborhood at the time. Her mother was an Alabama native and a nurse. As a child, she was a high achiever and an only child living with her mother. “I’m so fortunate to have the mother that I do, even though when I was younger, it would annoy the crap out of me that we have [almost] the exact same name,” said Jackson. “As an adult, I appreciate all the things that she made me learn and do.”
She initially wanted to be an accountant and lasted a year at a small college nearby, before deciding to switch to a different school. Jackson said that she desperately wanted more culture and diversity so she transferred to the University of Alabama for public relations and French with the help of her mother. After graduation, Jackson worked in music, public relations, and technology in the 1990s. She was 25 years old by the time she got to DH.
She began as a receptionist and worked her way up over the course of 24 years. The conversation to make her a partner in the business began during COVID when the pandemic necessitated more creative tech spaces for companies. Because DH was already tech-based, they were able to help companies pivot to virtual quickly. Jackson took the helm and slowly filled the role of president without the official title.
“Once it was finally announced and we got to the place for me to have the job, the overwhelming response was ‘Finally,’” said Jackson with a laugh.
As president, Jackson has vowed to foster diversity and access for Black and brown youths at DEVLINHAIR. “I want to take advantage of being able to not only uplift people and give them an opportunity, but for us to have the best creative, best voices,” said Jackson.
For the future, she said she’s interested in pursuing teaching younger generations about the tech industry.
[updated Wednesday, Nov 29]
Ariama C. Long is a Report for America corps member who writes about politics for the Amsterdam News. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep her writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visiting https://bit.ly/amnews1.
