Julia Filiberti Allen ’12 Discusses Burgess Institute’s Global Focus, Liberal Arts During Visit
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videos by Stephen Munchel
Burgess Institute Executive in Residence Emphasizes Global Perspective, Industry Connections
Julia Filiberti Allen ’12 (mathematics) returned to campus this month as an executive in residence with the Burgess Institute for the Global Economy, and highlighted the institute’s strengths in preparing students for successful careers in business, finance and leadership. During the residency, which included several classroom visits as well as informal career conversations with students, she stressed the value of Dickinson's distinctive emphasis on global perspectives and real-world industry engagement.
“I love how the Burgess Institute really focuses on a global perspective,” said the founder and CEO of Deep Tech Defense, LLC. “I’ve worked at two global companies—BAE Systems, based in the UK, and Saab, based in Sweden—and I can tell you the business cultures vary a lot. Preparing students for those opportunities is something that’s really unique.”
She added that the institute stands out for bringing industry professionals directly to students—a big part of the Burgess agenda each semester.
“The more that academia can interact with industry and really help students think beyond graduation—to how they would apply their skills in different industries—the better,” she said. “The Burgess Institute does a great job with that.”
Allen also credited her Dickinson liberal-arts experience with making her “almost fearless” when learning new domains throughout her career in defense, space systems and underwater systems.
“A liberal arts education encourages you to be broad, to learn at least a little about a lot of things,” she said. “That made embracing something new and taking opportunities as they came the logical way forward. It wasn’t courage; it was just what I learned here.”
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Published November 17, 2025