Julia “Ms. Cookie” Tutt is a lifelong community leader and advocate in Washington, DC. She is the re-elected Resident Council President of Highland Additions Public Housing, former Director of the Washington Highlands Family Success Center, and serves on the boards of multiple nonprofit organizations, helping shape programs that strengthen her community.
Known for her hands-on service, Ms. Tutt supports hundreds of families in Ward 8 through housing advocacy, food distribution, youth engagement, and crisis response-often around the clock. A leading voice in addressing youth violence, she partners with The George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health on the NIH-supported Changing the Narrative on Firearms Violence initiative, guiding youth programming and outreach.
Alongside her granddaughter, she leads Malaziah’s Closet, a grassroots nonprofit dedicated to clothing and feeding the hungry, modeling intergenerational service and compassion. Widely known as “Ms. Cookie,” Julia Tutt is celebrated for her unwavering commitment to dignity, opportunity, and care for her community.