Candidate Biography (submitted by campaign):

Joe was born in Dublin, Georgia and raised in Buncombe County in western North Carolina.  He attended public schools, graduating from East Henderson High School in East Flat Rock.  Joe holds an undergraduate degree in Business Administration and plans to pursue a graduate degree in the near future.  

Joe recently served as the Director of Public Affairs at the Henderson County Sheriff's Office in Hendersonville.  In this capacity he managed all aspects of public information, management of the nearly 11 million dollar budget, alternative funding sources and policy issues.  He also served as the chief political advisor for the Sheriff of Henderson County. 

Prior to his service with the Henderson County Sheriff's Office, Joe served as the Deputy Director of Operations at Western Carolina Produce, Inc., which is a successful local agriculture business based in Hendersonville.  Previous employment stops include stints at Montreat College, the National Student Pledge Against Gun Violence and Eno River Media Production. 

Joe is a member of the National Information Officers Association, the American Society for Public Affairs and the National Center for Public Performance Management.  Over the years Joe has served on the Administrative Board at Central United Methodist Church and the Board of Directors for North Carolinians Against Gun Violence Education Fund. 

In an effort to make his community and region better, Joe sits on several Boards, including:  the Henderson County Juvenile Crime Prevention Council, the Council on Aging for Henderson County, the Dispute Settlement Center of Henderson County, Crimestoppers of Henderson County and Eno River Media Production Corporation of America.  In addition, Joe is a member of the Leadership Team for the United Agenda for Children of Henderson County.  Joe also volunteers, from a distance, with research efforts at the Townsend Centre for International Poverty Research, which is located at the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom.

The Department of Public Instruction must be a conduit for positive educational change in North Carolina; with ideas and suggestions flowing from the bottom up and not from Raleigh down.  The North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction must be an advocate for our students, teachers and families.

We owe it to the future of our state to ensure that every student finds success in North Carolina.  In order to accomplish this we must acknowledge that every student does not fit into the same mold.  It is up to us to create policies that reach out to all students and help them find success where they are in their lives.

We must fulfill the past promises to pay and treat our teachers and educational employees as professionals.  There are tangible pay increases and there are non-tangible pay increases, which come in the form of strengthening the positive working environment for our teachers and school personnel.  We must establish a minimum wage for first year teachers in North Carolina. As your Superintendent of Public Instruction I will work to achieve this goal. In order to attract the best and brightest young, new teachers we must not only offer positive working environments but a strong and competitive living wage.

Assessment and accountability are two keys to the future success of public education in North Carolina.  The implementation of strong, sound assessments will lead to strong and sound accountability throughout our state.  I will advocate for a locally based, teacher-led accountability and assessment system. 

The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction will be the most responsive and responsible agency in state government.  My goal as Superintendent is to ensure that we, together, achieve this goal.  We will never regret the investment we make in our children.