Meet Julie Kessler | Wife, Mother, Animal Lover, Founder

We had the good fortune of connecting with Julie Kessler and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Julie, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I like to say Oakley’s Oath was founded by chance not by choice. It was never on my life path to start my own business or nonprofit, although, I always wanted to find my purpose in life when it came to my career, nothing ever really called to me. Being a devoted Mother and pet owner was always my main focus and it took tragically losing Oakley, our beloved pet to find my purpose. From the moment we lost Oakley, I sat broken hearted at my kitchen table, thinking ” this can never happen to another family again”. I knew my mission was to get my story out to the World, educate and bring awareness of safety and save the lives of children and pets.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Oakley’s Oath is a nonprofit organization, Federally trademarked in education, that I founded in Scottsdale, AZ back in 2021 after a tragic drowning occurred in our family home of our beloved dog, Oakley, while we were having our roof replaced. This tragic accident happened due to lack of communication on the contractor’s end, as they did not tell me it was in their plans to be in my backyard and would be placing a thin clear plastic tarp over my pool. Our dog never once showed interest in the pool, but on this particular day, to him, this surface looked different. I wasn’t armed with the right information, even though I asked them ” what do I need to know?” So, I chose to let him out that morning, like I always do and due to lack of communication, Oakley lost his life.

Our primary mission is getting in front of all home service providers and contractors and equipping them with essential knowledge and tools to prioritize the safety of their customers’ families and pets while work is being done on their homes. We have dedicated an entire program to accomplish this mission and vision. We know by getting in front of these industry professionals, we can encourage them to do better, be better, care more and in return this will improve their customer satisfaction and give them a competitive advantage.

Oakley’s Oath is a unique one-of-a-kind nonprofit, we hear often, ” Wow, this isn’t something we would have thought about but is so true and so needed.” We have received stories from all around that this exact thing has happened to their family, or when they were kids, and it has tragically stuck with them into their adulthood. We know we are niche, but we now know this isn’t a new one of kind problem. It’s been happening for years, waiting from someone to shine a light on it.

There are so many things I am proud of, there is no way to be able to speak of all of them here, but I am particularly proud of the lives we have helped save thus far. I was told once to just throw things out messy, who cares if it isn’t perfect, you have to get your message out, perfect it later. So, that’s exactly what I did in the beginning, I just threw out my safety tips online without thought, and I am so glad I did because it saved the life of an Arizona resident’s dog, Kona. I am so grateful and thankful her outcome was much different than ours. I am excited to continue our work, build our education program up and just keep saving lives of children and pets!

It took a lot to get us where we are today, we are only 3 years old and we are still green at this, we are living and learning and really just taking this one day at time. It truly comes down to hard work, dedication, compassion, and believing in myself, my team and this mission. Even then, it’s not easy, we can live in a World full of ” No’s” and I overcome it by turning around and saying ” YES” and we make it happen, every time! A big lesson I have learned along the way is trying to make a difference isn’t easy, especially with such a niche mission. We constantly are looking at ourselves, how can we be better, more clear, more impactful?

At the end of the day, it’s important to us to let the World know, we are here to help, educate and save your children and pets lives. We are not just about a dog, a roof and pool, it’s so much more. Quick facts: 2,000 children are injured a year due to accidents related to home construction, 200 children die annually as a result to accidents on home construction sites. 100,000 pets are injured annually due to home construction and about 60,000 pets are killed each year due to construction related accidents in residential areas. We do it for them and for all of you!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
We would start the day stopping to get coffee on the way home from the airport at Lux Coffee on Central a young and vibrant local coffee shop that hand crafts all their drinks, treats and food to perfection. With our newly founded energy, we would hit local shops and exhibits, perhaps the Art Museum or the MIM, or if the temperature is right, we would watch the wonder at the Butterfly Exhibit. For lunch, we could go somewhere tasteful, dog friendly and fun like The Henry or Chula Seafood. And of course, to close the night off, it in wouldn’t be an Arizona vacation if we didn’t take in the breath-taking sunsets at the Global Ambassador roof top restaurant Thea or taking a stroll through the amazing landscapes at the Desert Botanical Gardens.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
The success of Oakley’s Oath and our ability to do the work we are doing could not happen without the support of my Husband Maury Kessler O.D. and our two amazing daughters. A huge shoutout to Shay Barklow, my Executive Director, she has devoted so much of her time to Oakley’s Oath, I am grateful for her every day and couldn’t do this without her! Aswell as a big thank you to our Interns, Volunteers, Partners, Sponsors and all our Supporters, truly without all of your help, we could not be here!

Website: https://www.oakleysoath.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oakleysoath/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/oakleys-oath/?viewAsMember=true

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OakleysOath