Julie Zobel, PhD

Julie Zobel, Vice President & Chief Risk Officer, oversees the functional areas of Enterprise Risk Management, Emergency Management & Fire Safety, Environmental Health & Safety, and Employee Health & Well-Being.

Julie began working in the area of safety and compliance for Mason in 2000 as the university Biological Safety Officer, Chemical Hygiene Officer, and Assistant Radiation Safety Officer. She was quickly promoted through the ranks with additional risk-related responsibilities being added to her portfolio, as recently as 2020 with the onset of the COVID pandemic. Over the past 20 years, Julie established four core programs for the university: Environmental Health and Safety, Emergency Management, Enterprise Risk Management, and Employee Health and Well-Being. She developed and stabilized these new programs by coaching and leading staff through a series of organizational changes while integrating these programs with existing elements within the larger university structure; work that required extensive operational experience, understanding of regulatory compliance, and organizational savvy.

Dr. Zobel earned dual Bachelor degrees in Hazardous Materials/Environmental Management and Civil Engineering from the University of Findlay and the University of Akron, respectively. She earned a Master of Science degree in Civil Engineering with an emphasis in Environmental Engineering from the University of Akron where her thesis project focused on investigating a consortium of bacteria for their ability to degrade total petroleum hydrocarbons in soil. In addition, she earned her doctorate in Biodefense from George Mason University and her doctoral research and dissertation addressed the role of naturally occurring Bacillus anthracis in biological incident preparedness and response.