Julie A. Leonhard

I was destined to found Sea Kind. From the beginning, everything has been aligned for this to happen. I was born during the 60s in a San Francisco hospital near Haight-Ashbury a few blocks from the Pacific Ocean. Of course, I am an Aquarius and love the Sea. Its part of my heritage which traces back to my California ancestors who survived the Donner Party migration in 1846.

At a young age, my grandmother gave me my first skin care products. I loved them then and I still love them now. I love the ritual and the results. I believe caring for our skin and our appearance empowers us.

Since I started as a CPA I have worked entirely with entrepreneurs. My first position as a Chief Financial Officer was at the early age of 26. By age 31 I was President of my first personally owned enterprise, ImageMasters Printing in Michigan. This printing company was a turn-around situation, which I relished. Under my management the company grew six times its revenue within 18 months while implementing the newest technologies.

One of the technologies I embraced was environmentally friendly waterless lithography. Traditional lithographic printing required concentrated VOC solutions which made printing one of the most polluting industries. This new technology substituted water for the pollutants and produced superior print quality. Adopting this technology was a huge gamble for the company to benefit the environment and it was difficult. Selling innovative environmentally produced printing to automobile companies in the 90s was a pioneer effort since safer environmental production was not yet considered one of their purchasing priorities.

Adopting this technology nurtured my passion for combining business with sound environmental practices. I joined the Board of Directors of the International Waterless Printing Association and co-created the IWPA butterfly trademark, now recognized world-wide as the symbol for environmentally compatible print production.

After ImageMasters Printing, I decided that to become more effective as an entrepreneur I needed to extend my formal education by getting a Juris Doctorate degree. So, I did. Upon graduation I returned to my beloved California and have since worked with multiple entrepreneurial, consumer product companies in the SF Bay Area.

Finally, during a visit to the Greater Farallones Visitor Center at Crissy Field I realized that the time had come to combine my education and entrepreneurial experience with my passion for the environment and love for the Sea. Sea Kind was conceived and founded to produce effective skin care products which embody my passions and my values..