GeoHeroe - Joel Carson
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[00:00:00] Guy: welcome back GeoHeroes listeners, I'm super excited because today we Joel Carson, executive Director at GBA. Joel, you wanna introduce yourself?

[00:00:11] Joel: Sure Guy, it's great to see you. My name is Joel Carson. I'm the executive director of the Geoprofessional Business Association.

[00:00:19] Guy: Welcome Joel. So we're gonna do this interview just a little bit different than some of the others because many of our listeners probably already feel like they know you, Joel, because you are the face of the Geoprofessional Business Association and have been for the last 10 plus years. But there's probably a lot of folks that don't know your path into GBA. So did you, were you just born and became the executive director or was there a prelude to that?

[00:00:46] Joel: Yeah. No, not at all. I feel like the luckiest guy on earth to be in a role of executive director here at GBA. About 10 years ago I was at a crossroads in my career. I [00:01:00] had been a geoprofessional consultant for more than 25 years, and I was just getting itchy to do something else. And I had an opportunity to retire from from consulting.

[00:01:15] And, I was very active in GBA. I had been active in GBA for many years, starting with the early professional class. And I had served in many positions on different committees and I was on the board of directors about 10 years ago as I was the secretary treasurer at the time. So when I retired from consulting, it was about the same time GBA was looking to self-manage our association and we were looking for an executive director.

[00:01:47] And I remember clearly sitting around a board meeting and, everybody we're talking about who the next executive director might be. And someone in the room said is there anybody sitting around the table that would [00:02:00] consider being the executive director? And one by one, we went around the room to the board members and it was, no, no, no.

[00:02:08] And then came to me and kind of spontaneously, I said, well, maybe. And and everybody's head snapped and looked at me. And I kind of surprised myself by saying maybe and that started a path of me pursuing the role of executive director, which we used a head hunter or a recruiter. I mean, to identify that person.

[00:02:32] There was 70 applicants. I recused myself from all conversations at the board level about it. I applied for it, like those 69 other applicants went through the process, multiple interviews and I was selected and I can remember it clearly where I was the day that I got a call that said I was selected for the position.

[00:02:52] And it was a very happy day for me and it's been just really fantastic the last 10 years to be in this role. Helping [00:03:00] geoprofessionals to be better at business and and it's just been great.

[00:03:06] Guy: Well, crazy how fate turns on a split second decision.

[00:03:09] That's pretty cool. And we'll get back into GBA and the path for Geoprofessionals in our next section. But let's dig deeper into, Joel Carson in the formible years. Joel, why don't you describe yourself, growing up, where did you grow up and what was life like for you at that point?

[00:03:26] Joel: So I was born in San Francisco, California. We'll start at the very beginning. My mother was a fourth generation San Franciscan and and I was born there in San Francisco. Because my father worked for Bechtel Corporation almost his entire career, and at the time he was in their corporate office on 55 Beal Street, which everybody that works for Bechtel knows that address.

[00:03:52] But then growing up, every three or four years, my five brothers and sisters and I moved [00:04:00] around the country as my father had opportunities with Bechtel Corporation on transportation projects, hydroelectric projects and the last part of his career, he worked on coal-fired power plants in remote locations around the US where they build coal-fired power plants, or they used to.

[00:04:20] So I grew up with this core group of brothers and sisters. A big shout out to my older brothers, Wayne and Brad, and my younger sisters Jill, Carol, and Mary. And together we moved around the country every three or four years to places like Rock Springs, Wyoming crystal City, Missouri, Delta, Utah, all these small little towns that were building coal-fired power plants.

[00:04:46] Guy: So a couple questions for you, Joel. As you're growing up, moving around every four or five years means changing schools, friend groups. It sounds like you relied on your brothers and sisters, but how do you think that stays with you today?

[00:04:59] Joel: Yeah, [00:05:00] at the time it was really hard. We would have to pick up and move and as you said get acclimated to new locations. Different cultures meet new people, go to different schools. And it seemed really challenging at the time, but in retrospect, as I look back on that it has given me the opportunity to more easily adapt to new situations and overcome challenges.

[00:05:26] And so in hindsight, I think it was really. For me as a person and as a professional to experience that throughout my growth and actually it is carried through to this part of my life. Also, as I moved around several times to take opportunities as I started my professional career.

[00:05:49] Guy: So do you think knowing what your father did certainly made you aware of the engineering profession, but do you think that was a large reason why you pursued the technical career that you did?

[00:05:59] Joel: [00:06:00] Yeah. Yeah. Some of my earliest memories were my dad would take us out to project sites with him and one of my very first memories those flashback memories that you have of your childhood where you don't remember before or after, but you just have a moment in time that you remember. I remember walking down this dark tunnel that just smelled like earth and it was dark, but there was bare light bulbs along the ceiling of this tunnel.

[00:06:32] And I was walking, holding my dad's hand. And I had a hard hat on my head that was rattling around 'cause it was too big for me. And only later in life did I find out that we were walking in the tunnels of the Bay Area Rapid Transit, the BART system in San Francisco, my dad had helped design and construct one or more of the BART stations that are underground in San Francisco.[00:07:00] 

[00:07:00] And so I think you're right that those early years getting exposed to the engineering field. Were formidable for me and probably was the foundation if I could use an engineering term for for my career.

[00:07:16] Guy: Wow. I mean, you must have been in the top one 10th of 1% of knowledge of the construction industry for seven year olds.

[00:07:24] Joel: Yeah, probably yep. It was cool.

[00:07:29] Guy: So let's dig into the rest of your life at that point. Were you good at school? Did you like math and science? What was your school life like at that point?

[00:07:37] Joel: Yeah I really did all of us kids excelled in school. It was kind of an expectation of our family that we attended school and worked really hard at it and got good grades. And then also. Honor roll was important to them being part of our school councils and other positions within [00:08:00] school.

[00:08:00] So I really appreciate my parents are both college graduates which was kind of unique for my mom to be a college graduate in that time of the world. So I really enjoyed reading. Math came easy to me, which I think is what lends a lot of us to pursue science and engineering is math courses.

[00:08:23] And then when it came time to go to college, I just defaulted into engineering because I knew a little bit about it and I was good at math and that was. It's kind of the, the no-brainer approach to my college education.

[00:08:38] Guy: Yeah, we'll dig back into your school choice and college and career in a second, but I think our listeners wanna know more about young Joel Carson. What did you do for fun, Joel? Outside of school

[00:08:50] Joel: Lot of sports. Played all the sports in all the different seasons. I really liked baseball. We were living in Rock Springs, Wyoming when I was playing Little League, [00:09:00] and I got a chance to be on the All-Star team and we traveled around the state of Wyoming and won all of our games and got to go to Southern California to represent the state of Wyoming in

[00:09:13] the precursor to the Little League World Series. So we got to play in Southern California, so I really loved baseball football. There was something called punt pass and kick competitions that used to travel around every summer to all the small towns around the US and I actually won punt, pass and kick for our city three times and got to represent our city.

[00:09:37] So I just loved all things outdoors. My family our vacations consisted of piling all six kids into a station wagon and going camping somewhere. So I grew up with the outdoors as one of my priorities. It was just, really an awesome childhood.

[00:09:56] Guy: That's pretty cool. Pretty cool. Did you have a part-time job when you were in [00:10:00] school? What did you do for your spending money?

[00:10:02] Joel: Yeah, I, I kind of amaze my kids when I talk about my first job. I was, I think in third grade in Crystal City, Missouri. And I had a morning newspaper route, and so that means that every morning I'd wake up when it was dark and I'd have a package of newspapers sitting on my front stoop, and I'd have to roll those newspapers, put a rubber band around 'em, put 'em in my canvas bag.

[00:10:30] And then walk around the old town, part of Crystal City, delivering the morning newspaper before school or in the summer before I got to play. And and so that was five days a week delivering the newspaper to Crystal City, Missouri residents.

[00:10:47] Guy: A lot of lessons to be learned deliver in newspapers, right, because you're sort of an independent contractor.

[00:10:52] Joel: Yeah. Yeah. And the big challenge, but I think paid off in my career was once a month on Friday afternoons, I'd have to go [00:11:00] around and collect for the newspaper. And so that was knocking on doors, asking for people for money which has real application to consulting world. But it was all cashflow basis.

[00:11:11] I didn't realize that. Term at the time, but it was real time collection for for the newspaper. And if they didn't pay after a couple months, I would have to stop delivering the newspaper. So, those were real lessons. And then, you know, you have. Crystal City, Missouri gets cold winters and hot summers, and so you have to have some endurance to make sure the paper gets delivered every day.

[00:11:36] I was just a little kid sometimes on my bike, sometimes walking, and it was interesting first job.

[00:11:44] Guy: That's a great story and direct applicability to business entrepreneur. You could probably go on the whole paper route for the rest of the podcast, but we'll switch back to, your decision to attend college and pursue engineering. Let's think about Joel at that point in your life.

[00:11:59] What were [00:12:00] you thinking about doing? You were gonna go into engineering, but what did you see that look like? Was it what your dad was doing or something different?

[00:12:09] Joel: Yeah back in those days, you would take the a CT and the SAT test with no preparation. You'd just go in and take those with your number two pencil and submit 'em. And at the bottom of those forms, it asks you to fill out what colleges you wanted those results to be sent to. And so my brother had attended University of Missouri Rolla, which is now the Missouri School of Mines.

[00:12:32] So I checked that box. I was living in Utah at the time, so I checked the University of Utah and a couple of other colleges, and I remember being accepted into Rolla and University of Utah and having the choice of those two schools. And for me I knew I was gonna be putting myself through school and so I made the economic decision to go to the University of Utah, which [00:13:00] was about three hours north of where my parents were living in in small town Delta, Utah.

[00:13:07] And, so I started attending the University of Utah and I chose engineering field because I was just familiar with engineering and then realized that civil engineering was a very broad field. So as I started to think about what I wanted to do with my life, I had. Growing up in small towns, and I had heard that every small town has a city engineer.

[00:13:31] And so I focused my studies on transportation engineering, thinking that I was gonna design intersections and traffic signals and roundabouts and that was, I was gonna live in a small town someplace and be the city engineer.

[00:13:48] Guy: Okay, so you were able to, finish up your schooling and move on to a career. What were you thinking towards the end of college? What were your next steps?

[00:13:58] Joel: So you talked [00:14:00] about those little moments in life that make big changes in the trajectory of your life. As I was getting close to finishing up at the University of Utah, I saw a job posting a, an index card posted on a corkboard in the engineering department. And I pulled it off and and made a phone call and it was to a small consulting firm in Salt Lake City that provided geotechnical engineering services and some testing services.

[00:14:32] And I made the call and I was still going to school, but they agreed to let me work there in the afternoons while I was finishing that. That year in school. And and so I, I started in the engineering world with a real engineering job just prior to finishing up at the University of Utah.

[00:14:53] Guy: It is funny I'm reflecting on like the analog world you grew up in with actual newspapers that are made of paper [00:15:00] and delivered to your door and index cards posted on a bulletin, like an actual physical bulletin board with cork on it and a thumbtack 

[00:15:09] Maybe they don't even exist anymore.

[00:15:11] I'm not sure. They seem so inefficient, but yet so foundational.

[00:15:15] Joel: Yeah 

[00:15:16] Guy: so now you're in the geo profession.

[00:15:19] Joel: I am. And that small firm had a office in Salt Lake City and one in Denver. It was about the time that the Underground Storage Tank Act came out in the late eighties. And so I start, my first day was on the back of a drill rig. I was a driller's helper. And I was just helping move auger and stem pipe and cleaning it and just setting up and drilling borings.

[00:15:51] And then that progressed into other things in the Geoprofessional world, including the my first exposure to environmental [00:16:00] consulting.

[00:16:02] Guy: So walk us through your career from that point, because again, listeners Joel was a, legitimate. Pretty successful, accomplished Geoprofessional before we jumped into the executive director's role of Geoprofessional Business Association. So let's hear that tale of, all your way progressing through.

[00:16:20] Joel: Yeah, I started on the back of a drill rig as a driller's helper, and that progressed to sampling soil and collecting boring logs. When there wasn't drilling to be done, I was also slumping concrete and taking nuclear density tests with a nuke gauge. I was also working in the lab processing soil samples.

[00:16:46] So I had full exposure to the field professional work associated with what we do. That progressed and I started to manage projects and that was really [00:17:00] my first taste of the business side of consulting because I was putting together proposals and budgets and schedules. I was also talking to clients and finding out what their needs are.

[00:17:14] So that really wetted my appetite for the business side of consulting. 'cause I just loved all that stuff. I loved making a profit on every project. I loved making clients happy. I loved working with a team of people that were all trying to accomplish the same goal. So I was a project manager for a little while.

[00:17:34] This is all in Salt Lake City. Then something I didn't realize that I had was a bit of an entrepreneurial bone in my body and at the company I was working with, they had just opened an office in Boise, Idaho and had been awarded a statewide contract for underground storage tank work. And so I was working in the Boise office from [00:18:00] Salt Lake

[00:18:01] City one week a month, and then it became two weeks a month. And then I saw an opportunity to start an environmental practice in that office, and I wrote a business plan and submitted it to my boss and it was accepted. And my wife and I moved to Boise, Idaho to start an environmental department in that Boise office.

[00:18:24] That progressed as we grew the environmental department. I started also working with a national client. Albertsons was headquartered in Boise, and so I started doing Albertson's projects in Idaho, but then they had needs outside of Idaho and we had offices outside of Idaho. So I was the liaison between Albertsons and our other offices outside of the state of Idaho, and so it transitioned into a national account position with Albertsons, and I really love that because we were able to deploy our [00:19:00] resources to solve our clients' projects, problems and opportunities throughout the Western US. And I was the point person for all of that. And it just really thrilled me to build that book of business with a local client that was doing work in several states.

[00:19:17] Guy: Joel, can I interrupt you here and ask you a question? So it's clear that your father and your siblings had a big impact on you. Were there any other outside influences on you in your career, whether it be someone within your firm a peer, maybe a client that were really instrumental in, maybe didn't realize they were a mentor at the time, but when you look back you feel blessed that you crossed paths and they help you.

[00:19:43] Joel: Yes, I had a real champion. It was actually the person that wrote the index card and posted it at the University of Utah who hired me for my first job. I worked for him for a couple of years and then we both left that company and went to different [00:20:00] companies and then, then he recruited me back to the company that he had gone to.

[00:20:06] And he was just always a champion of mine, kind of a big brother relationship. But he provided opportunities for me supported my decisions, supported my growth. Always kept me on a learning curve. And that was just a really early mentor that I think was really set the stage for my career.

[00:20:30] Guy: Okay, now keep going with your story and take us up to where you started, which was this seminal moment of sitting in the GBA boardroom of who wants to be executive director.

[00:20:39] Joel: Yeah I'll cruise by pretty quickly because there's a lot of twists and turns at my career. So I started the environmental department in Boise. I was acting as a national account manager that grew and and resulted in several national accounts that I had the opportunity to manage.

[00:20:59] Then I sat [00:21:00] down with the CEO of the firm I was with Kleinfelder, and he asked me what I wanted to do with my career. Kind of a long-term strategic planning session with the CEO of the company, which was, super powerful. I just said I wanted to be the CEO of the company. I want your job.

[00:21:20] And the look of shock wore off on his face pretty quickly. And he said in order to, you know, you've gotta. Some good foundational things with your field, your project management, your client management, but you need some operational experience. So I started looking for opportunities to lead an operation and, I was selected to manage our operations in the state of Washington.

[00:21:43] So again picked up my family, which now consisted of three children and my wife. And we moved to the Seattle area where I had a chance to manage a group of people. And then another opportunity came to manage [00:22:00] a region, which was a group of offices, and that was in Omaha, Nebraska. And so, again, picked up my family and we all moved.

[00:22:09] So this theme of moving around every three or four years was carried through into my professional career. I managed a region of four states in the center part of the country. Then I was selected to be the division manager of the central division, which included 20 offices in 10 states from pretty much the Rocky Mountains to the Mississippi River.

[00:22:35] And just had bigger and bigger impacts in the company. So I think the theme here is that for me, I needed some sort of a change every three or four years in my career. And I was given those opportunities with this company Kleinfelder, which I was with for over 22 years.

[00:22:57] It just wetted my appetite to try new [00:23:00] things, to be uncomfortable. It did require that I move my family to take a advantage of these opportunities and my family has always been very supportive of that. But it also set this foundation a pretty well-rounded background of geoprofessional consulting, which I think, to drive this into the next topic it allowed me to pursue the opportunity to be the executive director at GBA.

[00:23:30] Guy: That's awesome. Well, thanks for sharing that story and congratulations on a wonderful career that's not quite over because you have your new career as our executive director. Remind me in 30 years we're gonna do a a podcast with your children and see if their moving in youth has an impact on their lives going forward.

[00:23:47] Joel: Yeah I don't know what's also interesting of the six children in my family. I'm the only one that's moved around. The others after college, they found their spot and they've stayed in their spot ever [00:24:00] since.

[00:24:00] Guy: Well, we'll have to do a study on that, but that'll be a future podcast topic.

[00:24:05] Joel: Yep.

[00:24:06] Guy: So Joel, let's shift gears now and talk about the geo profession more broadly. And I think you have a tremendous perspective on this that's quite unique in that you were in the field and you moved through a very accomplished but sort of typical progression of field to office to management. But now you're in a position where you interface with lots of people and maybe in more direct ways than most of us do, because that's your jobs to interface with different Geoprofessionals. So I'm gonna ask you, when you look at the geoprofession, when you know young Joel Carson's looking to take a part-time job while still working at University of Utah till now, what change have you seen in the profession over all those years?

[00:24:57] Joel: Boy, there's been a, you kind of [00:25:00] talked about it a little bit about how archaic some of our methods were. I remember writing field logs and then giving those over to somebody who would type them up. I remember hand drawing site plans and boring logs and soil diagrams. One of your previous podcasters talked about the the pen and ink process of drawing out site plans.

[00:25:26] I think it was Laura Register, and I remember that so clearly. Having to learn that process. Then also just the process of connecting with people picking up the phone and then having to go to visit someone and if they weren't local, to get on airplanes and have meaningful conversations with them face-to-face.

[00:25:49] So the progressions I've seen have been a lot about technology and how that technology has been applied to help us to be more efficient in what [00:26:00] we do. And I think that's been really significant and I think it's going to be the theme going forward is how we leverage technology to be more efficient as demand for our services goes up.

[00:26:13] Guy: We'll come back to that in a minute. But while you're thinking over the long arc of Geoprofessional in your career. What do you see as some of the key core competencies that are as relevant today as they were the day you started?

[00:26:30] Joel: I think communication is always gonna be the most important trait that a successful geoprofessional has, either in the written form or verbally. The ability to interface personally with with other team members, with clients, with regulators. I just can't emphasize enough the importance of communication and, you know.

[00:26:58] Realistically, [00:27:00] communication doesn't come supernaturally to a lot of engineers. And so I think it's an area that we all need to work on to improve our writing, to communicate, to improve our verbal communication skills. I think it's just really critical that everybody focuses on that, and it's going to continue to be important into the future.

[00:27:21] Guy: So we were just talking about technology and obviously there's a lot of technology associated with communication from, not having to travel because of, video calls. But what other, technologies really sort of driving our industry right now. What are the things that are. I could use the word disruptor, but just, sometimes when things are right in front of you, you might not notice 'em.

[00:27:44] You have this unique perspective, what do you think is raging right now in terms of transformation?

[00:27:50] Joel: The obvious one today, we're talking in 2025 is ai. And it's still yet to be seen [00:28:00] how disruptive that is or how important that is in our profession. One of the areas that I've been really impressed with is with remote sensing and automation. Remote sensing allows us to do a lot of the things that I did when I was just starting out in this profession of collecting data.

[00:28:22] Manually collecting data by reading dials and gauges. And now there's just so much advancements in remote sensing that allows us to collect the same data or even higher quality data without the presence of a human.

[00:28:41] Guy: So where do you see the opportunities, today for folks that are, you were a young, ambitious Geoprofessional looking for your next step. What do you think somebody at different stages of their career now should be looking towards?

[00:28:56] Joel: I think the opportunities that exist [00:29:00] are huge right now, where the Underground Storage Tank Act, when I was just starting out was the big opportunity. Climate change is going to continue to require high demands on Geoprofessionals. And there's so many aspects of the changing climate.

[00:29:18] Also urbanization and consolidation of populations is going to be a big opportunity for us as well. The eroding infrastructure is no secret that the United States continues to get poor grades with everything associated with infrastructure. So I think there's just huge opportunities for anyone who chooses to be in this profession, to continue to apply to all these opportunities that exist in the world.

[00:29:49] Guy: Well said Joel. And really some powerful pillars of future needs for Geoprofessionals to be involved. But if you look at it as the profession, so not so much what we're working [00:30:00] on, but how we operate. How do you think that's gonna change over the next 10 years? We still gonna be in, firms and interfacing the way we are, or do you see that changing in some way?

[00:30:13] Joel: As far as demand for our services, anytime you have soil and rock and water and air you're always gonna have a need for Geoprofessionals. I think one of the things that is changing, that I'm seeing is I started off with a very small consulting firm. I think there's a lot of consolidation that's happening in our industry right now.

[00:30:37] And I'm not sure if we're always gonna have small firms and mega firms I think that's something that, I'm not sure where that's gonna go, Guy. And this section might be cut out of the podcast at some point.

[00:30:51] Guy: That's okay. It's hard to predict the future and you're almost necessarily wrong, but it's a great question to ask. And I've really enjoyed listening to different answers on [00:31:00] that. But clearly you have a very broad perspective of our industry and appreciate you sharing that with us today.

[00:31:06] So now we're gonna move into what we call our speed round, Joel. So I want you to sit back, take a deep breath, put your seatbelt on because we are moving to the speed round. You ready?

[00:31:18] Joel: All right, I'm ready.

[00:31:20] Guy: All right. So one of my favorite things about the Geof Business Association are all the great people and learning about what they're doing and what they're reading. So what's your favorite book?

[00:31:33] Joel: Yeah, and this is one of my favorite parts of your podcast series Guy. 'cause I am a reader and so I love to hear what other interviewees are sharing about their reading list. Maybe I'll go back instead of what I'm reading right now to talk about what I think was the most formative book that I read as a young Geoprofessional Jim Collins book.

[00:31:55] Good To Great. That book really gave me awareness [00:32:00] of the really important things to run a healthy and successful business. Things like level five leadership the hedgehog theory. Do what you do really well, the flywheel to success, you know, get momentum going forward and let that flywheel spin.

[00:32:17] That was one of my favorite books, first business book that I ever read. And it was a first of many 'cause I just, once I found that genre, I just dove into it and read all the business books of the day. The book that I have read multiple times is called Endurance Shackleton's, incredible Voyage.

[00:32:39] And I just love that book because I could see the connections to leadership in that incredible two year voyage down in the Arctic where they. Were shipwrecked and this leader kept this band of scraggly sailors together for two years in the most harrowing [00:33:00] conditions. And just the simple things like be honest and clear with everybody and keep people busy and keep your enemies closest to you and provide them a vision.

[00:33:10] And you can carry out the toughest of challenges. And I actually used that book for a year long study class of one of the teams I had the opportunity to lead and I was glad one of your other interviews mentioned that. 'cause it reminded me how powerful that book was for me.

[00:33:28] Guy: I am trying to remember there was that ad that he placed in the newspaper. Wanted low pay, good chance you're not gonna survive some fame and fortune if we're successful or something like that. 

[00:33:38] Joel: horrible work conditions. You'll probably die, but if we make it, it'll be great.

[00:33:44] Guy: Yeah, that's that's tremendous. Thanks for sharing that. Now again, we've talked about, I think you just have this unique take on our profession, Joel based on working industry, and then all the, really kind of live in the business end day in, day out with lots of different people.

[00:33:58] So you get exposed to a [00:34:00] lot of different opinions. What's your optimism index for the geoprofession going forward with one being pessimistic and five being extremely optimistic?

[00:34:10] Joel: I'm bullish on this profession. I'm an optimistic person at heart, but I also see that there will always be a need for the geoprofessions. Again, we're constantly developing this world and everything that Geoprofessionals do are helping human health and safety. Every day you go home from work, the world is a little better place because a geoprofessional was working that day.

[00:34:40] And these issues that I talked about, the issue of climate change, of urbanization, of eroding infrastructure. Then the need for more power to drive all this technology more energy. There's never gonna be a time where geoprofessions are not [00:35:00] critical to society.

[00:35:03] Guy: That's really inspiring. Although I will caveat this by saying if the executive director of Geoprofessional Business Association is pessimistic on our future, then we may have a mismatch there. But he makes some really good points and certainly make me feel optimistic just hearing you talk. So Joel again, coming back to the geoprofession and the real tangible profession that it is, we're working on real stuff, like physical things that make people's lives better daily, between sewer systems or transportation systems or delivering water resiliency, all these things. What's, what do you feel like the biggest impact has been in your professional career? Do you look back and see anything specific that, you were super excited to be a part of.

[00:35:49] Joel: Yeah it's not project related. One of the things I didn't share with you before was that while I chose engineering, I chose it by default because my dad [00:36:00] was an engineer and I was really good at math. What I learned is that as a consultant, there's a lot of opportunities to pursue things that I was more passionate about.

[00:36:13] One of those things is the opportunity to work with great people and to lead people. I think it's been the biggest gift that I've been given. Think about the opportunity to help someone to reach their full potential by giving 'em support. Giving 'em direction giving 'em all the resources that they need.

[00:36:37] And so that's been the biggest impact on my career, is to be able to reflect on all the people that I was given the gift to lead and to help them to find their career and to reach their potential. That's humbling. It's powerful and really is the biggest impact that [00:37:00] has impacted me through this profession that I chose.

[00:37:05] Guy: Wow, that sounds sincere joel, you're thriving through coaching and leveraging others. That's just a terrific thing. And one more reason why you're doing such a great job as our executive director. So now I'm gonna ask you the, sort of the flip of that. And this is a hard question because you've done a lot and you're optimistic and you're in a role that you're comfortable.

[00:37:24] But when you look back on your career let me ask it this way. You likely came to some forks in the road over and over. Are there any of those forks that maybe you're still wondering what would happen if you turn left instead of right at that time?

[00:37:41] Joel: Yes. Although it's not a regret, it's just kind of a niggling wonder in the back of my head. At one point I was approached to start a new consulting firm with some of the people that I worked with. It was, related to the whole environmental [00:38:00] field and building a more green, building, more green companies.

[00:38:05] And the impact that has, and I thought about it for a while, actually had some early conversations and then decided that for my family and for me that wasn't the path that I could pursue to continue to provide stability for my family. And and I think it struck my, nerve of wanting to be an entrepreneur.

[00:38:30] Again, I had opportunities throughout my career to reinvent myself over and over and over again, so that really scratched that itch for me. But I do wonder what life would be like if I had pursued that startup of a consulting firm and what that might look like today.

[00:38:47] Guy: Yeah. Thanks for sharing that honest answer. It's hard to talk about that, but appreciate that. We're coming to the end of the interview, Joel, and I'm gonna ask you one final question for those entering the profession [00:39:00] today what would be one piece of advice you'd like to share?

[00:39:09] Joel: I think that it's. That one of the challenges that people who choose this profession have is to recognize the impacts that they have. Your whole podcast series is called GeoHeroes, and it's not that you're interviewing people that are GeoHeroes necessarily, but I think it's to emphasize that this is an honorable profession.

[00:39:34] And that it has it's critical to human health and safety and that it every day, I said it earlier, every day that you go home, after applying yourself as a Geoprofessional, the world is gonna be a little bit better place, a little bit better place for the people that are here on the earth now and for future generations.

[00:39:58] And so I think my [00:40:00] advice is, recognize the value of the, of this profession. Recognize that it's a very honorable profession, and it's just critical to the success of the world in 2030, 2050. And when this is listened to in 2070, I think that that will that point will be proven.

[00:40:20] Guy: Well said Joel. And that's pretty deep. Thanks for sharing that. We've pretty much concluded our interview, but I'm just gonna give you the last word, Joel. Is there anything that you know, you still have hanging in your mind that you'd like to share with our listeners that we didn't get a chance to talk about?

[00:40:36] Joel: Well, thank you. First I really appreciate the opportunity to be interviewed on this podcast series Guy. You are a fantastic interviewer, and I've had the opportunity to listen to all the recordings before mine and to be in that lineup of people that have been interviewed by you for this podcast series is just really an [00:41:00] honor. And I just want to thank you because you, your time to do this. You're a very busy guy and to make time to capture these stories and record 'em for the history of our profession has just been really incredible. And although this may be getting toward the tail end of season one of GeoHeroes it's gonna be a huge clamoring for season two of the GeoHeroes Podcast.

[00:41:29] Because there's so many unique people who have entered this profession, there's so many valuable lessons to learn from those people. And we cannot stop elevating the GeoHeroes, the people that are doing Geoprofessional work every day. We just can't stop that. So this is gonna be my first call out for you to take on season two sometime in the near future.

[00:41:54] Guy: Well, thank you Joel for the kind words.

[00:41:56] Thank you, Joel, and goodbye everybody

[00:41:59] Joel: [00:42:00] Thank you very much, guy Marcozzi. You're an incredible leader and, we appreciate the service that you provided as the president of GBA and I look forward to continued friendship and looking for ways to make the geoprofessions better into the future.

[00:42:15] Guy: can't follow that any better. Signing off.

[00:42:18] Joel: All right. Thank you Guy.