School Board President from 2007 to 2009 and Vice President from 2009 to 2010, Julia Bernath also has served on the Fulton School Schools Employees' Pension Board, including Vice Chair and Chair. In addition, she has represented the school board on the Fulton Education Foundation's Board of Directors. At the state level, Bernath is an active member of the Georgia School Boards Association, is a Past President of the organization and graduate of Leadership GSBA. Mrs. Bernath is also a graduate of Leadership Atlanta, Leadership Sandy Springs, Regional Leadership Institute, the Education Policy Fellowship Program and other leadership programs. She also is a member of the Rotary Club of Sandy Springs and serves on the Board of Directors for the Georgia Chapter of the American Cancer Society.

Bernath is a past Vice Chair of the Georgia Professional Standards Commission and has served on a number of statewide education committees. She is on staff for the Center for Reform of School Systems and has served as a mentor for school board members locally, statewide and nationally. Bernath is Past Chair of the Sandy Springs Education Force and serves on their Board of Directors as well as on the Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education's Advisory Committee.

Mrs. Bernath has received the Georgia Music Educator Association Friend of Music Education Award, Jewish Federation of Atlanta's Women of Achievement Award, Crohns and Colitis Foundation Woman of Achievement Award, Leadership Sandy Springs Alumni Achievement Award and the PTA Lifetime Member Award. Her three children are Fulton County School graduates, and she has two grandchildren enrolled in Fulton County Schools.

Board member since 2000. Reelected in May of 2018, her term expires December 31, 2022.