Born in London, UK, Joel moved to the US 20 years ago with a one-way ticket and $150 to his name. He worked for 10 years on various college campuses interacting with the leaders of tomorrow by building community and teaching valuable leadership skills.

For the next 10 years, Joel led a central community fundraising organization and endowment in Toledo, OH and a much larger one in Columbus, OH both of which increased participation in volunteer leadership engagement and general programming, donor count, annual campaign giving, and assets under his management year after year.