Social network expert 
and change agent with
a passion for  sustainable development.

"In light of the digital transformation process at Volkswagen, Julia introduced us to the importance of networks to enhance new ways of collaborating and transferring knowledge. Her profound expertise in network development and social group processes, paired with her positive energy, has guided us to new ways of working throughout the transformation process. Individually, and in small groups, we mapped and analyzed our team networks. The network maps helped us to develop a more systemic view on our competences and made opportunities for collaboration clear.

I was excited to learn about my personal network both within and beyond the organization. Thanks to the mapping and analysis process I became aware of who I can reach out to, where key partners are situated and of existing relationships between groups. I could identify where strong alliances to achieve our goal were situated and which relationships I needed to develop further. Our integrated team mapping session was particularly helpful: we learnt about how our collective network is accelerating change in our organization. Working with Julia is truly inspiring!"

"The network mapping workshop was excellent and highly worth the time. It was well prepared, referred to useful sources and models, and Julia’s style is very engaging. The follow-up material helped not only to secure what was learned during the workshop but also enabled utilization of the insights gained in separate future contexts.

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The importance of collective efforts was stressed, something that also raises awareness of the importance of investing time and resources in a customer management system that meets the needs and goals of our organization. Personally I gained a better understanding about my own networks and its opportunities as well as good impulses on how to extend/maintain it.

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I certainly would recommend and already think of using Julia’s competencies for further trainings and capacity building formats."

"I got to know Julia through a female mentoring program whilst setting up a new series of events on the topic of" Innovations in Science " at the BW_i. Julia's network expertise and her knowledge of the method 'Working Out Loud' came at just the right time for our talk series “Let’s talk about tomorrow”. Her keynote speech was the perfect combination of research expertise and practical guidance for all participants.

In addition to her presentation on the Working Out Loud method at Heilbronn University, she moderated 2 break-out sessions and was available for a detailed Q&A session. The talk was not only authentic, fresh, and innovative as such - it was also a lot of fun and we received fantastic feedback from our participants. Thank you for an enriching talk Julia, and on to new joint projects."

"Julia Schönbrunn accompanied the development of the “Weinsberger Tal” tourism association, with a focus on improving the collaboration and networking between local service providers. We have worked successfully with Julia for over 3 years to implement a sustainable regional development plan. She mapped and analysed the tourism network consisting of 127 organisations and policy makers, and revealed blind spots in our internal collaboration structure.

Thanks to her extensive analysis, we learnt where we need to connect and increase the level of collaboration to develop the region further. In a series of workshops with the association’s management team and network members, Julia helped us work out how to optimize our network development through targeted interaction and exchange to strengthen identification of our members; the Weinberger Tal brand.

With her ability to motivate others we were able to start a mobilisation process amongst members and worked out action points to better grow together as a group. With her knowledge, also in the area of marketing, she supported us in aligning our regional identity in a way that all network members feel integrated. What I enjoy most about working with Julia is her contagious positive attitude."

"Julia has joined our "Founders Talks" series at Campus Founders in Heilbronn to share her expertise in a very informative and inspiring keynote on "The Power of Relationships". With her extensive knowledge and diverse case studies she explained the power of informal networks, what it takes to become a 'smart network', and how network maps can help to develop sustainable ecosystems and business networks.

Besides her keynote and a Q&A session, Julia shared her practical network tool for the participants to draw their personal network. The keynote was authentic and lively. We've received very positive feedback about Julia's expert talk on this fascinating topic. Julia, many thanks for such an amazing talk."

"Julia introduced network ideas among five competing wineries based in our village. To our surprise by collaborating we were able to work and sharpen our individual business propositions. With more diversity and clear positioning at hand we've managed to enlarge our collective network. With Julia’s insights we learned to see the opportunities of creating a local wine identity with events and tastings, which added value, and broadened our perspectives on how to use our networks profitably.

With openess and mutual respect, we keep exploring new ideas and have even merged into a business to market our group “Erlenbacher Winzer”. Besides her expertise, what we loved about working with Julia is her energetic spirit and down to earth attitude."

“I always thought I was a good networker until I worked with Julia. She showed me how powerful and effective network-mapping can be. Julia has guided me through this process very competently with an ability to quickly see connections, where I did not see them first hand. We identified new opportunities through visualizing my network. This helped me to see new perspectives right in front of me. Suddenly everything was clear and I had a plan how to activate the power of my network in the best way."

"Committed, inspiring and moving - thank you, Julia! Thank you for sharing your Working Out Loud knowledge with us and our students in our kick off talk - it helped us all a lot in implementing WOL in our master’s course. With your motivating spirit you’ve supported and inspired our students to start their learning journey. I’ve experienced you as highly motivated, competent, and professional, and it will be my pleasure to work with you again anytime - Tsjakkaa!"