A way to make decisions, keep people moving and build through uncertainty.
Mission gives people a reason to act together. Optimism makes a path through difficulty credible - not by denying hard facts, but by choosing a plan and committing to it. Decisions and visible progress create momentum, which brings more people and resources to the mission. Joe explores this cycle with leaders facing difficult choices across sectors.
Make a shared purpose useful in everyday decisions, from the front desk to the leadership team.
Turn hard facts into a credible path for action, not cheerleading or certainty.
Use commitments, progress and follow-through to carry the work past its first win.
These are questions for a working conversation, not a formula that erases complexity.
A moment from the NYCARTSorg Arts Forum on the 9/11 Memorial: the Survivor Tree, the purpose of commemoration, and delivering on a public promise.
Often described as one of the most emotionally, politically and financially complex civic projects in the nation's history. Joe joined in 2005 as general counsel, later becoming acting president and then founding President and CEO. He led the project - under intense media and public scrutiny - to the Memorial's opening on the 10th anniversary of the attacks, and the Museum's in 2014.
The project had been stalled for decades at its planned home in South Carolina. Joe spent a year on the ground assessing, then made the bold call: convince the board to announce a national search for a new home. Arlington, Texas, was selected.
“He always maintained his sense of optimism and kept his eyes on the horizon.”
Debra Burlingame, letter in The Post and Courier, May 4, 2018
“When Joe was first hired a decade ago, Ground Zero was a hole in the ground and the memorial and museum were plans on the drawing board. Thanks in no small measure to Joe’s outstanding leadership, we now have a magnificent tribute to all those who lost their lives and gave their service on 9/11.”
Michael R. Bloomberg, former Mayor of New York City, statement on Joe’s departure from the 9/11 Memorial & Museum
“I have consistently been awed and impressed by his intelligence, tenacity, compassion, sense of humor and his deep ability to look for the best in people and always cultivate it, even in the midst of episodes that seem impossible.”
Kate D. Levin, former Commissioner, NYC Department of Cultural Affairs; Principal, Bloomberg Associates. Introduction at the NYCARTSorg Arts Forum, Part 1.
Moderated conversation and audience Q&A
Executive or board dialogue
University and civic forums
A 45-minute keynote is in development.