In addition to his work as a Meditation teacher, Wilderness Depth Guide and Nature-Based Contemplative, Joe has a long history of heart-centered service, grassroots activism and land-based community building. Among a range of other experiences, he has lived as a resident-steward at Dharmalaya Institute for Compassionate Living in the Himalayan Foothills, engaged in grassroots peace work in Israel/Palestine, co-founded Humanity in Action - an Engaged Buddhist retreat supporting refugees in France, and has spent over 3 years in monastic-equivalent meditation retreat.

Joe apprenticed for 7 years in the Insight Tradition, closely following his teachers Zohar Lavie, Nathan Glyde and Christopher Titmuss as they offered retreats and service work in Europe, India and Israel/Palestine. He worked for two years as a senior guide for Open Sky Wilderness Therapy and has engaged with the work of Animas Valley Institute for the past 5 years as a primary path, completing a Yearlong Immersion and participating in multiple trainings with Bill Plotkin and other mentors. He completed his Mindfulness Teacher Training under the guidance of Christopher Titmuss in 2017 and currently facilitates retreats, programs and pilgrimages in Europe and the United States that blend contemplative practice with contemporary animism - reawakening to the alive and animate nature of the land and all the beings who dwell there, including us.

In addition to his facilitation work, Joe is an ecological steward and community outreach coordinator at Wind Horse Village - 15 minutes down the canyon from where he lives in a yurt with his two cats. He is a trained Wilderness First Responder and certified Tracker.