With a commitment to public safety, Joel has served as a trained firefighter/paramedic with the Phoenix Fire Department since 1995. He is presently Deputy Chief and oversees Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport Fire District and its Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting (ARFF) program.

During his career, Joel has overseen various departments within Phoenix Fire, such as Special Operations, FEMA, Fire Resource, Facilities, Safety, and Emergency Medical Services (EMS). In addition, he has worked in Homeland and as a Public Information Officer (PIO) as a Fire Captain.

Joel was elected to the Tempe City Council in May 2008 and won re-election in 2012, 2016, and 2020 with a focus on public safety, neighborhoods, parks, housing, homelessness, mental health, drug addiction/opioids, trade with Mexico, and local live music.

Joel is currently the Chair of Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG) Human Services and Community Initiatives Committee.

Joel formally served on the National League of Cities (NLC) Executive Board and NLC Board of Directors. He is Past President of the Hispanic Elected Local Officials (HELO) and past Chair of the NLC Public Safety & Crime Prevention Steering Committee.

Joel also served on the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO). In past years, he served on the NLC/NACO Opioid Task Force and continues to lead efforts to develop a regional opioid action plan for central Arizona.

In 2001, Joel was appointed to the City of Tempe’s Human Relations Commission, serving as Chair in 2006. For that commission, he chaired various subcommittees including Day Labor and Emerging Issues.

Joel is a graduate of Tempe Leadership Class XIX and has spent many hours volunteering for the Tempe Community Council to help allocate grant money to a variety of local nonprofit organizations.

Joel is a graduate of Marcos de Niza High School. He played four years of sports: football, basketball, baseball, and track, lettering in football and basketball. While at Marcos, he also attained the rank of Eagle Scout, attended Boy’s State, and was in “Who’s Who Among American High School Students 1984-85”.

After attending Phoenix College and Mesa Community College, Joel received a full athletic football scholarship to New Mexico State University. While at NMSU, he helped local charities including Salvation Army and Special Olympics and was a Founding Father of Sigma Phi Epsilon. He graduated from NMSU in 1991 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Advertising Design.

Moving back to Tempe, Joel received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Ottawa University in secondary education and did his student teaching at Tempe High.

Joel is dedicated to providing leadership and mentoring to children of all ages. For more than 25 years, he has coached a variety of sports, including basketball, baseball, soccer, and football. He enjoyed 13 years as an assistant football coach at Marcos de Niza High School with the junior varsity and varsity teams.

Joel, his wife Stephanie, and his youngest son Henley live in the same Tempe neighborhood he grew up in. His daughter, Jillian, is a graduate of Bradley University and played softball for the university on an athletic scholarship. Jillian is presently a firefighter for the Peoria, Illinois Fire Department. His oldest son, Parker, is a graduate from Ohio University working on his Masters while still under scholarship for football as Quarterback.

Community Service

• Eagle Scout

• Board member of Tempe ALL City Sports

• Kiwanis Club of Tempe member

• Tempe Leadership Class 19

• Old Settlers

• Marcos de Niza Football Assistant Coach

• Youth Sports Coach