Julie Van Otterloo

BSW Field Director & Instructor of Social Work

I am excited to be at Dordt University as an Instructor of Social Work and the BSW Field Director. I am a graduate of Dordt where I earned a Bachelor of Social Work degree. I completed my Master of Social Work degree at the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

The majority of my social work career was spent with Bethany Christian Services of Northwest Iowa where I served as an Adoption Specialist, Adoption Educator, Expectant Parent Advocate, Education Grant Coordinator, Interim Co-Director, and as a Master Trainer for the Infant Adoption Awareness Training Program through the National Council for Adoption. I most recently spent two years as a Hospice Social Worker at Sioux Center Health. I have been blessed to experience working with people through the life cycle, from pregnancy planning and birth, to end of life. Additionally, I have experience as a Prevention Education Coordinator for the Northwest Iowa Alcoholism and Drug Treatment Unit, Inc., an Assistant Adjunct at Dordt College, and as a Lecturer in Social Work at Northwestern College.

My husband and I live in Rock Valley and have 4 children. Our oldest daughter is married and they have a daughter. Our son is a junior at Dordt University, and our twin girls are juniors at Western Christian High School.

We love to travel and especially enjoy vacations in the mountains or on a beach with lots of sunshine.