Joe has worked in leadership positions for local government (city and county), state government and the private sector. He retired from Wake County Government where he worked for 13 years serving as Deputy County Manager and Interim County Manager.  Prior to working in Wake County, he served as County Manager for Edgecombe County and  held various leadership roles with the City of Sanford, Richmond County and the City of Rocky Mount. He has also worked with the Wooten Company (Engineering, Planning and Architecture) and the State of North Carolina (Department of Natural Resources and Community Development). Joe received his B.S. from East Carolina University (ECU) in Urban and Regional Planning and has also completed graduate work in local government management from ECU and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.