Bert Nash staffer passionate about her work with children and families AND her music

Julie Berndsen has been singing since she was a young girl.

She sang publicly for the first time when she was in sixth grade. She performed in a community musical of “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.”

That was the start of her singing career.

“People said you should keep on doing that, so I kept on doing that,” Berndsen said. She’s still doing that.

Berndsen, whose day job is working as a waiver facilitator (coordinating care for children’s mental health services) at Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center, is lead singer in a band called The Latenight Callers, which has a loyal following in the Lawrence and Kansas City area.

“They are fabulous,” said Carla DeHetre, who is a Bert Nash clinician assigned to the Eudora School District, and a fan of The Latenight Callers.

“People are surprised that I sing,” Berndsen said. “There is the work Julie, and there is the singing Julie.”

Janice Storey, director of Child and Family Services at Bert Nash, applauds both — the work Julie and singing Julie.

“Julie is as talented and passionate about her work with children and families as she is about her music,” Storey said.

Berndsen, who grew up in Hutchinson, comes from a musical family.

“Music was always on in our house,” Berndsen said. “I enjoyed listening to pop music. My parents listened to everything from Neil Diamond to Led Zeppelin.”

Berndsen sang in a band since her senior year in high school.

“I used to sing in jazz combos,” she said. “I grew up singing jazz songs.”

Berndsen described The Latenight Callers as “the house band at a David Lynch pool party.” Lynch is a film director whose movies include “Twin Peaks” and “Mulholland Drive.”

“I would say our sound is something that’s darker sounding, but you can dance to it,” Berndsen said.

The group shot a music video last year. The video was filmed at the Green Lady Lounge, a jazz club in Kansas City, Mo.

“It was a really great experience,” Berndsen said. “Interestingly, one of the directors of the music video is someone I grew up with. I took singing lessons from his mom.”

The Latenight Callers were formed in 2009. The other members are Gavin Mac, Nick Combs and Krysztof Nemeth.

“We had the same musical tastes, so we started a band together,” Berndsen said. “We were like, let’s do this live. That’s kind of how it started.”

For Berndsen, music is a creative outlet.

“With music, you get to shape how it goes. In life and in the professional world, you don’t have that control, but with music you do,” Berndsen said. “It’s very therapeutic.”