Joe is an anthropologist who has been in the field for over 30 years. He started as a volunteer archaeologist, working for his grandfather at the Bureau of Land Management. He then studied cultural, applied, and ultimately visual anthropology. He has a Master of Visual Anthropology from the University of Southern California.

Joe grew up in Golden, Colorado, but has spent several years living abroad in southern California, Oregon, Idaho, and southwestern Colorado. He has traveled across most of the United States and Europe, and has ventured to Kenya for work.

His primary focuses are science communication, storytelling, and off-grid living, which is what brought him to The Lab. His interest in self-sustainability, community networks, and climate-resilient food systems is something that he feels is important to research and act upon as climate change takes effect. 

He currently lives off-grid with a solar system that allows him to run his daily life and charge his Electric Pony (Mustang Mach E EV). His desire is to help build a sustainable off-grid community focused on researching architecture, biodiversity, infrastructure, and cultural practices.

Joe is a big science fiction nerd and he loves dogs; eating tacos; forests with tall trees; big rivers; and high desert canyons. He is currently an adjunct instructor of Anthropology at several Universities, but has found his home at MSU Denver.