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Julie Trell

Founder & Chief Play Officer at Playful Purpose

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Julie Trell

About Julie Trell

Julie Trell is founder and Chief Play Officer of Playful Purpose, a Sydney practice that uses play to build skills and culture in teams. She works as a fractional chief play officer, designs and runs workshops, leads peer coaching groups and gives talks, and writes about AI, play and work.

She began her career as a classroom teacher in inner-city Atlanta. She was a vice president at the Salesforce Foundation, where she helped shape its early 1/1/1 model, and the first executive director of the Workday Foundation. After moving to Australia in 2017 she led Telstra's muru-D startup accelerator and helped launch SheEO, now Coralus, in Australia.

On Day One's History of the Australian Startup Ecosystem series, she discussed why diversity matters in startups.

In conversation.

2 episodes

Start hereJulie Trell discusses the importance of diversityHer full interview on diversity, drawing on her move to Australia to run muru-D and launch SheEO.

Documentary: The History Of The Australian Startup Ecosystem

The History Of The Australian Startup Ecosystem - Part 4

With Simon Thomsen, Tim Boyle, David Burt, Rachel Yang, Sarah Pearson, Bruce Tulloch, Cheryl Mack, Lucinda Hartley, Joshua Flannery, Megan Sebben, Alex Scandurra, Phil Ireland, Peter Devine, Dean McEvoy, Craig Swann, Colette Grgic, Pete Horsley, Aaron Birkby, Annie Parker, Paul Bassat, Maxine Sherrin, Malcolm Turnbull, James Alexander, Melissa Widner, Hamish Hawthorn, Lauren Capelin

Go straight to the good bits.

Key moments from Julie Trell discusses the importance of diversity.

  1. 0:29Meet Julie Trell
  2. 1:10Julie's Current Role and Responsibilities
  3. 1:57Background on SHEEO and Its Impact
  4. 2:10Julie's Experience in the U.S. Startup Ecosystem
  5. 3:16Differences Between Australian and U.S. Startup Ecosystems
  6. 4:59Growth and Collaboration in the Australian Ecosystem
  7. 5:40Achieving Gender Equality in Startup Land
  8. 6:48Julie's Passion for Inclusive Opportunities
  9. 7:54The SHEEO Activator Process
  10. 8:49Unique Aspects of the SHEEO Model

In their own words.

“Men will accept jobs where they have two of the ten qualifications and women need to have at least eight or nine.”
Julie Trell — Julie Trell discusses the importance of diversityThe History of the Australian Startup Ecosystem - Interview Series · 8 February 2022

The path so far.

  1. Now

    Founder & Chief Play Officer · Playful Purpose

  2. Earlier

    Head of muru-D startup accelerator · Telstra (muru-D)

  3. 1998–2012 · Scale-up

    VP, All Things Fun, Meaningful & Rewarding · Salesforce Foundation

Sources: impactboom.org

Playful Purpose on Day One

Playful Purpose is an Australian-based consultancy founded by Julie Trell, dedicated to transforming workplace learning and collaboration through the integration of play…

1 person · 2 episodes
Playful Purpose

Across the network.

Spot something wrong? Suggest a correctionUpdated 29 October 2026

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