Julie Sandy’s first involvement with the Vilcek Foundation was as Archives Consultant (2021-2024), working with the foundation’s digital and administrative teams to shepherd the project from initial proposal and development through to its current status as an internal resource, where it is accessible to staff to support project developments, research, and planning for programs and initiatives. She continues to provide support in an advisory capacity to the digital and archives teams as they develop the next phases of the project. 

Sandy is also the archivist/librarian at the New York School of Interior Design (NYSID). As a member of a very small team, she enjoys juggling a variety of projects, including the exhibition of archival material (both in NYSID’s Gallery and online), print book and archival collection development, instruction of graduate and undergraduate students, advocacy for the use of primary sources in the curriculum, and leading several burgeoning digital archives initiatives. 

Prior to her work with NYSID, Sandy worked on a number of academic and curatorial projects focused on interior design which honed her skills in this area; she assisted in the curation of exhibitions for NeoCon in Chicago, and for the International Contemporary Furniture Fair at the Javits Center. She also co-authored curricula for continuing education courses for design professionals. Sandy previously worked as an archivist for Roundabout Theatre Company and for La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club; her involvement in these database-building projects was a natural progression from and built on her previous decade’s worth of experience as a prop designer, shopper, and fabricator for Broadway and off-Broadway productions. 

Sandy holds an MSLIS from Palmer School of Library and Information Science at Long Island University with a certificate in rare books and special collections. She earned her BA from Williams College, where she majored in theater design and art history. In May 2023, she gave a talk to the METRO Library Council entitled “Storytelling with the Archives,” about her collaborative role in NYSID’s 2022 exhibition “Designing Duo: Tom Lee and Sarah Tomerlin Lee.” Sandy has also been a guest lecturer at Williams College, speaking on the topic of “Ephemera as Art.”