Julie Walker joined the automotive retail team at Automotive News in 2022, covering dealership mergers and acquisitions along with public retailer Sonic Automotive Inc. Previously, Walker wrote, copy edited and designed at five Michigan newsrooms, including two dailies and a startup, over two decades. She is a graduate of the University of Michigan’s Dearborn campus, with a bachelor’s degree in communications/print journalism and a master’s degree in liberal and interdisciplinary studies, completing a thesis focused on the Detroit hip-hop community.