As Shippensburg University continues its participation in the America the Entrepreneurial campaign to honor alumni who have built exceptional careers as entrepreneurs, alongside its celebration of Women’s History Month, the university proudly recognizes Julie Cropp Gareleck, a serial entrepreneur, bestselling author and AI innovator whose work is shaping the future of people-first leadership in the workplace.
Gareleck, a 2000 B.A. graduate of the Communications, Journalism and Media (CJM) program, has built a career defined by vision, discipline and a willingness to challenge conventional paths. She is the co-founder of Vera, an ethically driven behavioral AI company focused on helping organizations understand and improve the workforce in real time, a venture that places her at the forefront of a rapidly emerging category within artificial intelligence.
For Gareleck, her entrepreneurial foundation was built early in life. Long before launching companies, Gareleck’s entrepreneurial mindset was forged in her family’s restaurant, where she started working at the age of 15. She recalls her parents emphasizing that the success of the business depended on the entire family contributing. The experience became what she describes as “an MBA before I’d even gone to college,” teaching her leadership, accountability and operational discipline at an early age.
These lessons carried into her time at Shippensburg. “I credit the university for providing a solid education, not just in my field of study but all around,” she said. “I encourage students to seize every opportunity to learn from people and experiences beyond the classroom or their declared field of study.”
After graduating, Gareleck worked in Paris for a public-relations agency before joining Temple University’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship Institute, where she consulted with start-up companies on the development of business plans and feasibility studies. Her trajectory soon led to screening companies for a venture capital organization, evaluating hundreds of early-stage businesses each year. The role sharpened her ability to identify scalable ideas, leadership potential and the elements investors prioritize — insight that would later prove invaluable as she built her own ventures.
In 2009, Gareleck founded Junction Creative Solutions, a strategic marketing agency that grew into a nationally recognized firm serving Fortune 1000 brands and high-growth companies. Through strategic leadership and disciplined execution, she scaled the company and ultimately led it to a successful acquisition, a milestone that cemented her reputation as a builder of high-impact organizations.
As she closed on the sale of her company, Gareleck fulfilled a lifelong goal of becoming an author. Her bestselling book, Dare to Become: From the Corner Booth to the Corner Office, draws from her journey and provides a roadmap for aspiring leaders and entrepreneurs. Revisiting journals she had kept since adolescence helped her clarify the motivations that shaped her path and reinforced the message she shares with emerging founders — that entrepreneurship demands discipline, resilience and the courage to persist despite rejection.
Gareleck is now embarking on her next chapter as co-founder of Vera, launched in early 2025 alongside co-founder and behavioral scientist, Dr. Ghazaleh Samandari. Vera’s AI platform and human-led solutions combine behavioral science with business intelligence to inform decisions in the workplace. Vera integrates with workplace tools such as email, messaging platforms and project systems to detect behavioral signals that contribute to business outcomes.
Gareleck’s vision is rooted in her belief that business success and employee well-being are inseparable. “We are facing a new era in workforce development that includes five generations in the workforce, evolving hybrid-work environments and an increasing skill gap,” comments Gareleck. “I believe that AI, when used responsibly, can impact not just the bottom line but the people moving through these organizations. Humans, regardless of the rise and adoption of AI, will always remain at the heart of each organization.”
Gareleck has long been a champion of entrepreneurship and cross-disciplinary innovation. She advocates for the role universities play in fostering entrepreneurship. She highlights the Charles H. Diller Jr. Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership and Innovation as a hub capable of bringing together students from journalism, science, business and the arts to turn ideas into viable companies.
“Inside every university, you will find diverse skill sets that are incredibly relevant when building a business,” she said. “I applaud the university for its investment in entrepreneurial thinking and innovation as it opens the door for generations of entrepreneurs, business owners and leaders.”
Gareleck is building on a legacy of leadership and possibility. She largely credits her parents for helping to shape her work ethic, early employers who taught her how to operate in a business environment, and professors at Ship who provided her with knowledge that opened doors. “My sister, business owner and fellow Ship alumna, Marci Cropp, and I often refer to those early years in the restaurant as a training ground. While our journeys have been different, we’ve applied those lessons to build businesses.”
Julie Cropp Gareleck’s journey reflects the power of perseverance, reinvention and intentional leadership. Her story stands as a testament to what is possible when vision meets action and as inspiration for the next generation of entrepreneurs emerging from Shippensburg University.
