Julie Hill-Lauer of Auburn will lead the United Way of DeKalb County as its executive director beginning Oct. 19, the organization’s board president Gary Zoller said this week.  Hill-Lauer will replace Amanda Bailey, who resigned from the executive director position this summer.  “We wish (Bailey) well,” Zoller said. “She’s left to pursue other options.”  Hill-Lauer has more than two decades of experience in the nonprofit sector. She worked in several positions with Big Brothers Big Sisters, both in Indiana and South Carolina. While raising her two children, Anna and Liz, with her husband, Don, she juggled several “momfriendly jobs” at service organizations such as Catholic Charities and Shelter Ministries. “My family is a priority,” Hill-Lauer said. For the last seven years, Hill-Lauer has worked at Children First Center, heading up an early literacy program, Families First.When the program ended a couple of years ago, she implemented the concepts from Families First into all programming at the center. Hill-Lauer believes her experience at a few of the United Way’s 23 agencies will help her transition into the director’s position. Through networking and collaborating, she’s built relationships with other service workers, and she’s looking forward to meeting new people.  Hill-Lauer’s goal is to raise as much money as possible for the United Way’s agencies to take the burden of fundraising off agencies that are busy providing much-needed services to area residents.  “I think that our community has always been a very giving and generous community,” Hill-Lauer said. “I love the concept of raising funds under the umbrella of the United Way to help the agencies.”  Hill-Lauer said the United Way also helps provide accountability to donors, making sure that member agencies are providing quality services and spending appropriated funds responsibly.  “United Way’s efforts should be year-round, not just three months of the year,” Hill-Lauer said. “We need to build a variety of support for agencies, financially and in other ways.”