Julie Cellini

Julie Cellini is active in a range of historical and cultural activities, many of them in her adopted hometown, Springfield, Illinois.  For 20 years she was a driving force behind the creation of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum which opened in April of 2005.

Mrs. Cellini was a founding member of the Foundation. She also served on the steering committee for the library's acquisition of the $25 million Taper Collection of Abraham Lincoln memorabilia, considered by historians and archivists to be the single most important privately held collection of Lincoln documents and artifacts.

Mrs. Cellini is a graduate of Southern Illinois University's School of Journalism, she is a freelance writer and newspaper reporter who received Copley Press's Ring of Truth Award for feature writing; she was named Springfield's Preservationist of the Year and was named a "Woman of Achievement." Mrs. Cellini is in charge of special projects for her family-owned real estate development company with offices in Springfield and Chicago.