Joe has 25+ years of experience coaching leaders and helping them drive meaningful and lasting change through better communication using neuroscience and applied theories of human persuasion. His focus is on enabling leaders to bring their strategies to fruition by connecting with and inspiring their people.
In addition to his coaching work, Joe has an extensive military background, having served in the infantry and public affairs branches of the United States Marine Corps from 1995 to 2015. During his time in uniform, Joe planned and executed the largest media embed program in Marine Corps history during the invasion of Iraq, served as the senior U.S. military spokesperson in Northern Indonesia during the international disaster relief mission in the wake of the Boxing Day tsunami, and served in the Pentagon as the spokesman, press secretary, and staff group director for the 34th, 35th, and 36th Commandants of the Marine Corps. Joe retired after 20 years of active duty service in 2015 and has since served as an Executive Vice President of Membership and Marketing, and a National Director of Media Relations. He has appeared frequently on national television and radio on various advocacy issues and his writings have been widely published in national outlets including The Washington Post, The Daily Beast, and Foreign Policy.
Committed to lifelong learning, Joe holds a Master of Arts in Mass Communication and Media Studies from San Diego State University and a Bachelor of Science in Architecture from The Ohio State University. He is a former Massachusetts Institute of Technology Seminar XXI fellow and a graduate of Georgetown University's prestigious Organizational Consulting and Change Leadership, Facilitation, and Executive Coaching certification programs. Joe is also an adjunct professor at the College of Southern Maryland where he teaches human communication, and at George Washington University's Elliott School for International Affairs where he teaches Strategic Communication.
In addition to his professional work, Joe is a sweat-equity partner in Data Valuation Ventures - an advanced artificial intelligence and analytics firm helping people know what their data is really worth. When he's not helping clients, you can find him section-hiking the Appalachian trail with his partner, Kate, or planning their next big mountain climb.
Notable Client Achievements
- Coached the founder and CEO of DataVal Ventures on telling the story of his new company to potential investors, establishing the "why" of his company, and envisioning the values-based culture of his new organization.
- Coached the CEO of Suicidology.org through a career pivot.
- Served for five years as as a strategic advisor for communication on the personal staff of three successive Commandants of the Marine Corps.
- Served as the speechwriter and public affairs advisor to the Commander of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan (4-star general and leader of a 40 nation coalition)
- Planned and executed the largest media embed program (+100 reporters) in Marine Corps history during the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
- Co-led a two day facilitation and team coaching session with Moderna's HR leadership team to increase psychological safety, reframe conflict as an opportunity, and establish agreements for working together.
- Co-facilitated several engagements with Intel Corporation on leading through ambiguity, innovation in challenging times, building trust within teams, and innovation and trust.