Julie Petruzzi assumed her role as CEO of Chesapeake Hearing Centers in 2017 to carry on the legacy of her father, Dr. Charles L. Hutto, Au.D., who founded the practice in 1975. In this capacity and as an Owner of the practice, Julie manages the teams and operations at our eight locations to ensure that we embody best practices and constantly innovate to better help our patients.

Julie has found it a great joy to return to her roots and lead her family business. There is no more fulfilling mission than improving people’s lives through better hearing! The importance of good hearing care was ingrained in her at an early age. Julie was raised alongside her foster brother whose hearing loss was misdiagnosed from birth, depriving him of hearing aids for the first decade of his life. Julie also learned about hard work watching her father and mother sacrifice as they built the first private practice of audiology in the state of Maryland. As most children growing up in a small business, she was around the office all the time and started working here as soon as she was eligible to work. From filing charts to vacuuming the floor, she helped with whatever needed to be done!

Julie took a circuitous journey to her role at Chesapeake Hearing Centers. Before joining the practice, she served for seven years as a foreign policy and international economics expert within the U.S. government during the administrations of George W. Bush and Barack Obama. Her most recent position was as Senior Director for China at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative from 2013–2014. Prior to that, she was the Senior Coordinator at the State Department for the U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED) from 2012– 2013. The S&ED was the premier bilateral forum where over 200 government officials from both countries tackled our policy differences and forged cooperation on areas of mutual interest.

Julie entered the State Department in 2007 as a Presidential Management Fellow in the Office of Taiwan Coordination. Through this fellowship, she completed rotations at the Treasury Department’s Bureau of International Affairs and at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing. She then became the Deputy Economic Chief in the Office of China, Hong Kong, and Mongolian Affairs and was assigned to the National Security Council to prepare for President Obama’s first official visit to China in 2009. Julie is proud to have served her country and earned Superior Honor and Meritorious Honor awards during her time at the State Department.

Julie has a B.A. in economics from Smith College and an M.A. in international affairs and economics from the Johns Hopkins School for Advanced International Studies. Prior to her career in the government, Julie taught English for a year at the Nanjing University of Science and Technology and worked as a research assistant for the Technology and New Economy Project at the Progressive Policy Institute.

Julie is a graduate of Severna Park High School and was born and raised in Anne Arundel County. In her free time, she loves going on adventures with her husband and their two school-aged daughters. She is passionate about international travel and learning about other cultures and languages. Julie also enjoys researching her family’s genealogy and volunteering for her church and Girl Scouts.