Joe Neuhof has been a part of The Civil Conversations Project from the start, having led the Kickstarter campaign to fund this work over three years ago. His interest in racial justice and equity started at a young age, growing up in Philadelphia and Baltimore, as he often wondered what the numbers tattooed on his Opa’s arm meant, later to find out most of his family were exterminated in Nazi concentration camps in WW2. With this family legacy of genocide and a soulful connection to the outdoors, he has dedicated his career to non-profit conservation work, Joe has championed programs involving under-served and minority communities for many years across the country.

Professional Background: Joe is a proven leader with more than 20 years of experience in nonprofit work, much of it dedicated to the Colorado Plateau. He has served as an innovator heading various organizations, including as the founding executive director of Colorado Canyons Association, a nationally recognized partner to the Bureau of Land Management and force for youth engagement with the outdoors.

Joe recently served as the founding Executive Director of Forever Our Rivers Foundation in which he created a six-figure grant system, built sustaining endowments benefitting the Colorado River Basin, and created a community of more than 50 nonprofits and companies dedicated to river health. Joe has also performed as the West Slope Director for Conservation Colorado, Executive Director of Save our Streams in Baltimore, MD, and as a board member for various nonprofits including Conservation Lands Foundation, The Community Impact Council, Colorado Plateau Coalition, Community Impact Council, and Red Rock Forests, among others.

Currently Joe is beginning his tenure as the Executive Director of Friends of Cedar Mesa, working with native communities and leaders to protect sacred landscapes in the greater Bears Ears region of southern Utah.