Mary Julia Koch is an Associate Editor with The Wall Street Journal Opinion section. She previously reported on higher education and foreign policy for The New York Sun. Her work has also appeared in The Free Press, Air Mail, and The Republic. A 2023 graduate of Harvard College, she served as editor-in-chief of the student weekly The Harvard Independent. Mary Julia is a partner at the Robin Hood Foundation’s Rising Leaders Collective, with a focus on improving K-12 education in New York City; a member of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Vanguard Council and Apollo Circle; a member of the Young Patrons Circle of the New York City Ballet; and a graduate board member of the Harvard Independent.
Mary Julia has also worked with Little Sisters of the Assumption, a non-profit organization based in East Harlem that provides food, clothing, education, and healthcare to vulnerable families in the neighborhood. In high school, Mary Julia tutored students in Little Sisters of the Assumption's after-school programs and launched a tutoring group that provided a model for other New York City high schools. In 2019, the organization awarded Mary Julia its first-ever Spirit of Service Award. She has remained involved through philanthropy.