Julie O’Dell is a retired electric cooperative executive with more than 40 years of progressive experience in strategy management, human resources, safety, administration and organizational development. Additional areas of expertise include legal compliance, corporate ethics, corporate continuity, culture and succession planning.

She retired from Blue Ridge Energy located in Lenoir, North Carolina in early 2026 where she served for 23 years as SVP and Chief Administrative Officer. Prior to joining Blue Ridge Energy, Julie led successful HR organizations with Sara Lee Corporation, Kayser-Roth Corporation, and Kimberly-Clark.

Julie is a certified graduate of the Palladium Kaplan-Norton Balanced Scorecard strategy execution process and served as a master trainer for Touchstone Energy’s strategy execution premium master class curriculum. She is also a certified facilitator for the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator personality preference assessment. She previously held the SPHR certification from the Society for Human Resources Management.

She participated in several electric cooperative conference presentations at the local, state, and national levels. Topics included governance, strategy, culture, succession planning, and leadership.

Over her career, she played a key role in the improvement of employee culture that resulted in Blue Ridge Energy being named one of North Carolina’s best small employers and one of the nation’s best places to work for millennials.

Julie is a resident of Blowing Rock, North Carolina where she attends First Baptist Church of Blowing Rock, enjoys spending time hiking, paddle boarding, fishing, and taking mini vacations on her deck.

Julie holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from The University of Tennessee. She also loves traveling to Wyoming and Montana doing fun things like camping, hiking, snow skiing, and snowmobiling.