Joel Wright

Experience

Joel is a Social Entrepreneur and driven by the question, what would the world look like if all young people had access to leadership development? With over twenty years of experience, Joel has worked directly with youth and builds the systemic capacity of organizations that serve them. Joel’s engagement with The Center for Creative Leadership (CCL) started in 2006 as a consultant helping to launch an innovative initiative to democratize leadership development. Prior to CCL, Joel was a consultant with the United States Olympic Committee, YMCA Director at Silver Bay YMCA and a YMCA World Service Worker in Sri Lanka (including Indian Ocean Tsunami relief). Joel’s earliest days of employment were as a professional ski instructor, tennis instructor and a camp counselor. For more than two decades Joel’s work has been grounded in the field human development, leadership development and mentoring/coaching. He frequently writes and presents on the importance of Expanding the Leadership Equation.

Current Role

Joel serves in CCL’s Societal Advancement group as Director of Learning & Innovative Solutions. In this role he leads CCL’s early leadership efforts, works to create systemic solutions in schools and communities, and leads a team that works interdependently across Societal Advancement and CCL. This work requires partnering with local and global organizations to conduct research, create innovative solutions and develop new business models. Together we’re tackling issues related to: transforming education; developing the next generation of leaders; and, advancing global peace, stability and security (Habitat for Humanity). Capacity development, codifying our learning and disseminating insights and innovative tools are key to our vision of “democratizing” leadership development. Writing, presenting, facilitating, designing, innovating and creating scalable solutions that foster capacity development allow Joel to serve this global movement.

Educational Background

Joel graduated from Wittenberg University in 1995 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in History.

Professional Affiliations/Publications

• Joel’s professional affiliations include the International Leadership Association and the Leadership Forum at Silver Bay.
• Expanding Leadership Equation
• Wright J. (2015). Coaching beyond the Organization. In Douglas D. Riddle, Emily R. Hoole, & Elizabeth C.D. Gullette (Eds.). The Center for Creative Leadership Handbook of Coaching in Organizations (pp. 495-522). San Francisco: Josey-Bass.