Dr. Julie Messner has always had a passion for caring for children, as evidenced by the super successful babysitting empire that she built at an early age. But it was in the 6th grade that she made her decision to become a pediatrician, and her path was set.

Dr. Messner attended medical school with a Health Professions Scholarship from the U.S. Army. Partnering with the Army for medical school felt natural because she comes from a family with a long line of military service. She's grateful for the incredible training and leadership opportunities the scholarship program provided.

Today, Dr. Messner knows that pediatrics is and always has been the perfect career for her. She likes to say that residency training was great, but being the parent of four kiddos has taught her even more. Each of her children is wonderfully unique and have shown her that there's no one right way to parent, that it's important to meet each child in the way that's best for them.

As both a parent and pediatrician, Dr. Messner delights in forming personal relationships with her patients, their parents and their families. It brings her great joy to be able to help kids grow up happy and healthy while supporting and encouraging their parents.

When Dr. Messner isn't working or spending time with her family, she's passionate about helping the children of El Progreso, Yoro, Honduras. She truly enjoys caring for, supporting and educating the children in that community, mostly by working with the orphanage and nutrition center that her church helped to establish. Since her first visit many years ago, a big piece of her heart remains with those programs, the staff and especially the children she has cared for and loved along the way.