About me
Julie Ames is president and founder of The Cambridge Group, where she is engaged in solving communications, leadership and public policy problems for a range of organizations, including corporations, governments and non-profit organizations in the biotechnology, software, utility and financial services industries.
Prior to serving as President of The Cambridge Group, Ms. Ames served for 8 years as Vice President of Corporate Communications at Biocom California, the state’s largest trade association for the life sciences. She was a member of the executive leadership team at Biocom, reporting to the CEO, and responsible for leading comprehensive communications strategies and programs to drive awareness of Biocom’s strategic priorities across the state and the U.S.
She was recruited during a time of growth, leading the strategic communications as Biocom California opened new offices in Los Angeles, South San Francisco, and Sacramento. Concurrently, she developed short- and long-term plans for stakeholder outreach and engagement, hired and guided external agencies, developed customized regional key messages, and managed media relations and executive communications. An experienced speechwriter, Ms. Ames crafted numerous speeches for the CEO and other members of the executive leadership team. With a background in the biotechnology industry, Ms. Ames provided strategic guidance on messaging for many of Biocom California’s committees, including the Cell and Gene Therapy Committee, the Convergence Committee, the First Time Founders and Start-up Resources Committee, and the Capital Development Committee. Finally, Ms. Ames crafted strategic communications plans with a focus on patients and building awareness of unmet medical needs and the role of the life science industry in improving human health. Ms. Ames is an experienced patient advocate with an eye for high impact storytelling. With an advanced degree in public policy, Ms. Ames is also well-versed in government relations. She was a leader in messaging around the negative impacts of the Inflation Reduction Act for California life science companies.
Prior to Biocom California, Ms. Ames served as Executive Director of Global Public Relations at Life Technologies a $5B market cap company, which was acquired by Thermo Fisher Scientific. She led communications around more than 5 corporate acquisitions and a hostile takeover bid. Before joining Life Technologies, she was Director of Corporate Communications and Investor Relations for CancerVax Corporation, where she led, among other programs, all communications elements of the company’s initial public offering (IPO). She managed communications during a partial clinical hold by the FDA.
Ms. Ames is the recipient of numerous awards, including most recently, Top 50 Life Science Leaders in San Diego. Past awards include the TWIN award (The Women in Industry Leadership) and Military Spouse of the Year from the Military Spouse Business and Professional Network, and was a finalist in the BioFusion IR/PR award and the San Diego Women Who Mean Business awards. She is a published author.
Ms. Ames earned her Master’s degree in public policy from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and a B.A. in economics with honors from the University of Virginia. She is married to Rear Admiral Chris Ames (USN, ret.) and has two children.
