"As someone who has worked her way up through the levels of law enforcement, Julia understands the demands placed upon new and experienced managers in the public sector.  Her ability to identify and effectively manage the structural challenges and help others to do the same is invaluable.  She brings a very important skill set to the firm, and we're delighted to be working with her," Canter said. 

Prior to joining Step 1, Grimes served twenty four years with the Alaska State Troopers, and served in a wide range of duty assignments, including   urban patrol,   statewide and   metropolitan drug and alcohol enforcement , Major Crimes Investigations   rural  enforcement as a Trooper/Pilot in bush Alaska and in Fugitive Apprehension/Judicial Services.  A graduate of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's National Academy and the National Executive Institute in Quantico, Virginia, Grimes was the first female trooper in Alaska to be promoted to captain, and later became the first female trooper to be promoted to  Colonel and assigned as the  Director of the Alaska State Troopers. 

"I'm delighted to join the Step 1 team, combining my experiences with the firm's unique and successful consulting services.    We know that public sector managers strive to reduce turnover of personnel, strengthen depth of experience and develop leaders within their administrative and operational staff.  We also know that managers can  realize  superior results through leadership development, mentoring and management coaching," said Grimes.  "With a significantly elevated consequence of error as compared to their private sector counterparts, public officials - particularly law enforcement and public safety officials - must focus much of their time and efforts on how best to deliver  critical services with professionalism, competence and accountability.  With such a premium placed on efforts to  ensure effective service to the public,  training focused on leadership development represents a challenge to already stretched resources and can fall to a lower priority.  Ultimately, it is to the detriment of the organization's mission if leadership development is not part of their strategy for long term success.     I look forward to the opportunity  to fill this training gap with the goal of  of developing stronger leaders and enhancing  overall operational performance."  

Grimes is a lifetime member of the Women Police of Alaska (WPA), as well as a member of the National Association of Women Law Enforcement Executives (NAWLEE), and the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP).