Julia Pell

Julia Lorillard Wampage Pell of Middletown, Rhode Island was born in Washington, D.C. on May 9, 1953. Her parents were Senator Claiborne Pell and Nuala Pell of Newport, who were influential in their examples of community service and work toward the public good. Julia was educated at the Potomac and Madeira Schools in Virginia and graduated from Montesano, Gstaad, Switzerland. She received her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Rhode Island. She served on the boards of the Newport Art Museum, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, and the Potter League for Animals. Julia was a civil rights advocate and passionate about improving the lives of the disenfranchised, the oppressed, and those less fortunate. She was an outspoken advocate encouraging diversity at a time when there was little consideration of equity among people. Julia also served as president of the board and as a lobbyist for the Rhode Island Alliance for Lesbian and Gay Civil Rights. She was a founding member of Equity Action, a Field of Interest Fund at the Rhode Island Foundation. Julia died on April 13, 2006. A feisty and courageous pioneer of the LGBTQ movement, she was survived by her life-partner, Julie Smith.