Joe is absolutely blessed to join the Criminology Department at DePaul – and honored to advance the Vincentian mission through his study and practice of restorative justice.
Joe is an Army veteran and brings eight years of higher education experience, teaching at Illinois State University, Millikin University, National Louis University, and Roosevelt University.
The best way to describe Joe's style is as a “pracademic”, insofar as he emphasizes performance learning, civic engagement, and the application of scholarship to meet the most pressing needs of community and country.
Outside of the classroom, Joe is a social worker at Cook County Jail – one of the largest mental health facilities in the country - where he facilitates therapeutic peace circles with female individuals in custody. In 2025, Joe will train and teach with the Inside Out Prison Exchange Program, an opportunity for which he is beyond grateful.
As someone whose family has been deeply impacted by the justice system, whose family centered their personal story of forgiveness, and whose family advocated for treatment over trauma, Joe offers students a robust perspective on the restorative way of life.