Joel’s family moved to Eastern Europe when he was eleven-years-old. He spent the next several years living in Lithuania, Russia, and Germany. Joel returned to the U.S. to attend Evangel University and joined the U.S. Peace Corps after graduation. He lived in Uzbekistan for two years, teaching English to high school students and delivering university seminars on writing scholarship applications. Upon returning to the States, Joel went to graduate school at the University of Texas at Austin. He currently works at Santé Ventures, a venture capital firm that invests in early-stage life science and healthcare companies. Joel joined Explore Austin in an effort to ensure that the next generation of leaders has the opportunity to learn the lessons the great outdoors has to teach.