Background
Josh has been with MPC since 2006. His focus is on advancing MPC’s environmental and economic goals through policy research, advocacy, and community engagement. He manages MPC’s water resources protection initiatives, co-authored Before the Wells Run Dry, and now works with state, regional and local leaders on strategies to sustainably manage Illinois' finite water resources. Through the Community Building Initiative, he provides technical assistance on transit-oriented development, energy efficiency, water supply, and stormwater. He co-authored Retail 1-2-3, one of MPC’s guidebooks for local elected officials and staff. He also manages MPC’s internal GIS for geospatial analysis of emerging environmental, economic and demographic trends. This work includes investigation into the jobs-housing mismatch, opportunities for transit expansion, and federal investment patterns.
A New Hampshire native, Josh resides in Chicago’s Hyde Park community, where he spends a lot of time in Lake Michigan and on the lake shore path. He managed a small school in Japan before his graduate studies in public policy and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Chicago. His honors thesis, published in Water, Environmental Security and Sustainable Rural Development: Conflict and Cooperation in Central Eurasia, compared the political discourse of marsh restoration in southeastern Iraq with the environmental history of the region. He spends his evenings teaching English as a Second Language at Poder Learning Center in Chicago’s Pilsen community.
Articles
Charting a new course for the Chicago River-
- The Chicago River has been in the public eye in the past few weeks, a spotlight it too rarely enjoys. First, the Obama Adminstration came down on the side of disinfection; Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley subsequently reiterated his ongoing support enhanced treatment and a cleaner river. Asian carp…
New MPC and Openlands report tackles Illinois water supply concerns-
- MPC and Openlands, both longtime advocates for sustainable water supply management, have released Before the Wells Run Dry: Ensuring Sustainable Water Supplies in Illinois, a joint report with recommendations for improving local and regional water supply planning and conservation strategies across…
- Chicago Community Databook
-
In coordination with the 2016 Fund for Chicago Neighborhoods, during the summer of 2008, MPC collected, analyzed and mapped data for communities that stood to be the most affected if Chicago won the bid. Despite the International Olympic Committee's decision, MPC’s Community Databook remains a useful resource for these communities, which are ripe for redevelopment.
Every drop counts-
“Before the Wells Run Dry,” a half-day forum hosted by MPC and Openlands on Oct. 13, drove home one key message: ‘Water waste and inefficiency we can solve; water scarcity is something our region must avert.’
- Reinventing investment for a more livable Chicago region
-
The second event of the MPC-CAF summer discussion series, "Reinventing Public Investment", focused on how federal policies in housing, transportation and economic development have shaped decisions and community development in the Chicago Region.
More articles »
Areas of expertise
- Sustainable water resources management
- Water supply planning and conservation
- Transit-oriented development
- Economic development
- Energy efficiency
- Climate change
Education
M.P.P., Public Policy, University of Chicago
M.A., Middle Eastern Studies, University of Chicago
B.A., English Literature, College of William and Mary
