Hired in March 2024, Julie Hammer joined Bowdoin as an Assistant Athletics Director for Special Projects and Planning, a new position within the department.
Hammer began her career in athletic communications with the Big Ten Conference office in Chicago, before deepening her expertise in institutional operations during a rewarding 16-year tenure with Northwestern University Athletics (2005-21).
Following seven years spent managing PR and graphic design efforts for NU Athletics, Hammer in 2012 devised and implemented the innovative Kabiller NU for Life program. For nine years, Hammer served as the school’s first Associate Athletic Director for Career Enhancement and Employer Relations, strategically managing and growing a first-of-its-kind initiative in intercollegiate athletics to further the career growth and professional IQ of Northwestern’s 500+ student-athletes. Hammer also served as the Vice Chair of Sports Administration within the department, supporting and guiding all sport administrators while maintaining administrative oversight of NU’s softball and field hockey programs. She also served on the Big Ten Conference’s Sport Management Committee (SMC). In 2021, Hammer established Hammer Consulting and Coaching, LLC., advising a portfolio of Division I and Division III athletic departments plus several industry non-profits on a range of issues, including strategic planning, organizational analysis, and narrative construction.
Hammer completed her undergraduate degree at Syracuse University, where she was a Verizon Academic All-American in softball and a Syracuse Orange Plus Athletic Hall of Fame inductee (2005). She earned a Master's Degree in Higher Education Administration and Policy from Northwestern University and later served as an instructor and thesis advisor in Northwestern's MA in Sports Administration (MSA) program.
She and her husband, Scott, have two spirited sons, Elliott and Kieran. They reside just outside of Portland, Maine.
