Joel and his wife moved to the area in the spring of 2019 and he joined the Cumberland board that fall. A retired architect, Joel graduated from the University of Kansas, where he later returned to get an MBA.

A true Jayhawk, Joel is an avid basketball fan. An example of this fanatism was the time he was in Montreal working on a project in January. Kansas was playing on the road against Iowa State – a big rivalry. Unable to convince the owner of a local sports bar to switch one of the dozens of TVs from hockey to the basketball game, Joel sat in his rental car (with temps in the 30s) and listened to the game over satellite radio; only taking a break during halftime to go inside and warm up. (Note: KU won the game in overtime.)