Hi there! My name is Joe.

My obsession with stories began with musical theater. From the first time I stepped onstage, I caught the performing bug and haven’t looked back. I earned my bachelor’s in music education from the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, started my first career as a choir teacher, and went on to become a professional singer and Jeff Award–nominated musical theater actor who’s performed in theaters and cabarets across Chicago.

After a few years, I went in search of a new adventure at Northwestern University, where I enrolled in a master’s program focused on leadership in creative enterprises. I took a job as a contributor to the program’s blog and discovered another way to stretch my creative muscles: writing. This newfound skill launched my parallel career as a creative administrator, project manager, and editor at some of the nation’s most vibrant nonprofits and higher education institutions—and even local government—including La Jolla Playhouse, Goodman Theatre, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Northwestern University, the City of Chicago, and most recently, the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools.

Now, I balance these passions in my life as a working actor, fundraising communications professional, and freelance singer and writer. I thrive working on projects at the nexus of my interests.

Want to learn more?