Joe received his Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Michigan and his MBA from the Harvard Business School. He also completed a Fellowship in Healthcare Marketing from Northwestern University.Joe has owned his own businesses in both Manufacturing and Consulting. He worked for Sparrow Hospital for 21 years as Director of Marketing; Spokesperson; Vice President of Community Services; and President of the Sparrow Foundation. He retired from Sparrow in 2007. Joe was also a member of the faculty at MSU in the College of Communication Arts and Sciences from 2007 – May 2017 when he retired from MSU.
In 2011, Joe was asked to step in as Interim Executive Director of the Greater Lansing Food Bank. In 2012, the “Interim” title was removed. Under Joe’s leadership, the area’s two food banks were merged into one, the Greater Lansing Food Bank (GLFB), effective July 1, 2012. Feeding America membership status was achieved in 2013. The Greater Lansing Food Bank is the regional food bank serving the people of 7 counties in central Michigan. The GLFB has increased distribution from approximately 5 million pounds of food in 2012 to more than 8 million pounds of nutritious food in 2017, touching the lives of nearly 100,000 residents of the mid-Michigan region. Unfortunately, the need continues to grow.
Joe is married to Cheryl who serves as CFO for Mason Public Schools and has recently completed terms as the Board President of two statewide organizations. They have two grown sons (and a daughter-in-law) residing in Chicago and Seattle, and one very special 1 ½ year- old grandson and an equally special new little grand-daughter born this past December.