Strategic Leader.
Human-Centered
Systems Architect.
I help organizations rethink how they develop talent, modernize workplaces, and adopt AI at human scale. Deep expertise building enterprise solutions, from pioneering information architecture to leading AI transformation at Fortune 100 companies.
I bridge strategy and execution, focused on closing the gap between what organizations know they should do and what actually gets adopted.
Across Multiple Domains
Organizations Transformed
Leadership Recognition
I partner with leaders to:
- Reimagine career development as a product experience, not an HR process
- Design AI solutions that amplify human judgment and expand what's possible
- Transform workplace strategy to balance cost, flexibility, and human connection
- Build adoption and culture into transformation initiatives from day one
Continuous Reinvention
I've reinvented my role every 5-10 years to stay ahead of change. Most leaders specialize early and stay in one lane. I've deliberately evolved across multiple domains (learning systems, information architecture, talent platforms, workplace strategy, AI adoption) building pattern recognition that most specialists lack.
To understand where AI and career development are heading, I prototype solutions in adjacent spaces. Currently exploring how high school students think about AI and career planning through Future.Me.Answered, a career exploration platform for Gen Z. This outside-in perspective helps me bring fresh insights to enterprise work and stay ahead of trends before they hit the corporate world.
Director at TIAA | Denver office closing July 2026
Committed to staying in Colorado with my family
Director / VP roles (Colorado or remote) with organizations rethinking career development, AI transformation, or workforce strategy
What Others Say.
Third-party validation from people who've worked directly with me.
"Joe is one of the best leaders I've ever worked with. He's articulate, thoughtful, and highly strategic, yet he never loses sight of the human side of leadership. His openness to collaboration created an environment where innovation could thrive, and his ability to connect strategy to execution ensured our work made a real impact.
Joe is also exceptional at building connections across the enterprise. He links people, initiatives, and ideas in ways that encourage adoption and amplify impact. He has a rare combination of clarity, vision, and trust-building skills that make people want to bring their best to the table.
Any organization would be lucky to have him at the helm, especially during moments of change, when clear thinking and inclusive leadership matter most."
"Hands down, Joe would be my first pick if I had to pick teams. I've had the pleasure of working with Joe at two companies, iXL and Pearson Performance Solutions. At both companies, I worked on the same team as Joe, and you can always count on him to get the job done, and done right."
"I worked with Joseph for over 5 years at Vangent. Joseph supported myself and the sales team as a Sr. Sales Engineer and was incredibly effective in that capacity. That role required Joe to take system functionality and customer requirements and translate client needs into an actionable program plan and successful deployment.
Joe has a unique combination of skills, both technical and from a presentation/customer relationship management standpoint, that allowed him to listen effectively to customer needs and requirements, and then to translate that information into a working technical solution and recommendations for that customer.
In my decade of sales experience, I have never worked with anyone who could take an organization's value proposition and technical capabilities, adapt it to a client's needs, and articulate a solution to a non-technical audience as well as Joe. I have attended tradeshows with Joe, where he was not only our organization's technical expert, but the best salesperson on the floor."
"Joe's extensive knowledge and experience with web-based technologies and also instructional and visual design continued to make Joe a key contributor to our enterprise software design and development efforts.
Joe had the rare ability to be able to focus on the details during the design and testing stages of our software platform and then turn around and leverage his business acumen and strong interpersonal communication skills to present to clients, facilitate training classes and also clearly communicate with software engineers.
Joe took direction and feedback well and was also full of ideas and able to run on his own. Joe continually delivered on time, in spec and on budget and was a pleasure to work with."
"I have worked with Joseph in different capacities for the past 5 years. We have worked on various projects together including launching a rebrand of our website and the co-management of a major product launch.
Joseph's diligence to due dates and timelines was always present. When launching our rebranded website we had an extremely tight timeline and due to Joseph's dedication, attention to detail, and willingness to teach me how to write HTML we met our deadline.
Joseph's technical background brought a different perspective to the product's management, he always asked the why's and how's of how the product was being developed and how the clients would be affected. I cannot give a co-worker more praise than Joseph. He was always willing to go the extra mile for our clients, whether those clients were internal or external."
My Operating
Principles.
Six principles tested across multiple domains and contexts. How I diagnose problems, design solutions, and navigate complexity.
A great solution that nobody uses isn't a solution. Success isn't measured at rollout, it's measured by sustained use.
I think systematically about how organizations work, workflows, incentives, infrastructure, governance. But I never optimize for the system at the expense of humans. Technology should amplify what people do best, not replace judgment.
In the AI era, the most powerful question isn't "What can we automate?" It's "What can we help people think differently about?" I design AI to enhance judgment and expand possibility, not eliminate jobs or thought.
I combine strategic vision with hands-on execution. Creative problem-solving with data-driven decision-making. Empathy for humans with discipline for systems. This blend bridges the gap between how organizations think and how they need to operate.
How people grow, learn, and move into new roles should be treated like any product experience, designed with intent, evolving with user needs, measurable in impact. Organizations that rethink career development as a product (not just an HR process) win the talent game.
We can't solve tomorrow's problems with today's thinking. AI, distributed work, skills-based careers, and rapid change mean organizations need people who can think differently and operate at the intersection of human and machine intelligence.
If you read the case studies that follow (CareerSpark, Workplace Modernization, Revolver), you'll see these principles operating simultaneously in every one. They're not separate approaches for different problems. They're the same lens applied across different contexts.
That consistency is intentional. It's what allows me to move between domains, understand complex organizations quickly, and design solutions that stick.
CareerSpark
Rethinking Career
Development at Scale.
AI-enabled career development platform adopted by 16,000+ associates at TIAA.
The Story
An associate had spent 27 years processing distributions. When TIAA announced office closures affecting 1,000+ associates, she was terrified. She couldn't see how to talk about her experience in a way another employer would value.
In one of my CareerSpark sessions, we used AI prompts to break down what it takes to be good at her job. The output wasn't one task—it was dozens of skills: problem solving, client relationship management, attention to detail, working under pressure, handling complexity, meeting deadlines, advocating for customers.
Watching that list appear, I could see the weight lift from her shoulders. She realized she had far more to offer than a job title suggested. That's what CareerSpark is designed to do at scale.
The Challenge
TIAA's 16,000+ associates faced: two major office closures affecting 1,000+ people with 15-27 years in the same role, limited visibility into transferable skills, and development plans that felt like guesswork. Meanwhile, AI tools were being rolled out, but training was highly technical and most associates didn't see AI as "for people like them."
The real problem: How do we help thousands of people facing uncertainty see their own value clearly, chart a path forward, and learn to use AI in a way that feels relevant and empowering?
The Insight
Instead of teaching AI through abstract business cases, teach AI through the one subject every associate is already an expert in: themselves.
Use AI as a guided mirror to help people see the skills they already have, explore where those skills could take them next, and build language and artifacts (resumes, profiles, plans) that tell their story.
The Solution
I conceived and designed CareerSpark as an AI-enabled career development journey built around 9 integrated modules covering career values, self-assessment, upskilling, personal branding, resume writing, LinkedIn optimization, job search strategy, applications, and interview preparation.
My Role
Connected upskilling, AI adoption, and career development into a single coherent strategy. Conceived the CareerSpark concept and designed the 9-module journey. Defined the pedagogy and AI-prompting approach. Led content and experience design. Drove adoption through webinars, workshops, roadshows, and coaching. Created the Manager Guide and am leading design for the AI agent and Resume Builder.
Impact
Scale: 16,000+ associates now have access. 1,000+ directly affected by office closures have a structured path forward. 1,500+ engaged through live sessions. Integrated into TIAA University as core career development experience.
Transformation: Associates who once "shot in the dark" on development plans now identify realistic future directions, see and name their transferable skills, and map skills required for where they want to go. Long-tenured associates report feeling more confident telling their story to other employers.
Recognition: Values Champion, "Face of TIAA Values" VIP honors, all connected to this work.
What's Next
The Manager Guide is being rolled out. The CareerSpark AI agent is in final development and will launch within the next two months. The integrated Resume Builder will launch with the agent, generating resumes directly from associates' CareerSpark work.
Workplace Modernization
Orchestrating Transformation
at Scale.
Led 3,000+ associates through pandemic return and office modernization, 44% real estate efficiency without retention crisis.
The Challenge
When TIAA called 3,000+ associates back to office in January 2022, the initiative launched multi-million dollar modernization projects across six locations. But modernization brought hard choices: associates would lose assigned seats, embrace hoteling models, and see their personal workspace "homes away from home" redesigned without their input. Eighteen months of remote work had severed the connection to physical spaces.
The core problem: How do you lead people through multiple unwanted changes simultaneously (modernization, seating model shifts, facility redesigns) when trust is already fragile?
The stakes: Get it right, and you modernize the company while keeping culture intact. Get it wrong, and you trigger a retention crisis.
The Approach
I didn't treat this as a space problem. I treated it as a change management problem wrapped in a facilities problem.
My strategy: Build a structure where tactical work gets delegated (to space liaisons), strategic work stays centralized (relationship management with GCS, CRE, Facilities, HR, leadership), and one person stays constant through all the change. That was me.
Key Projects
Charlotte Campus Welcome (2022): Hosted 6 in-person tour events with leadership greetings, campus tours, training, meals. Changed skepticism into excitement.
Lewisville Digital Displays (2022): CEO-directed 2-week refresh; installed 12 digital displays. Innovation became repeatable: replicated in Denver and Charlotte; later became business requirement for Frisco.
Denver Consolidation & Modernization (2023-2024): 700 associates transitioning from assigned to hoteling seating; achieved 44% more efficient space utilization. Most resistive change; I volunteered to attend townhalls and answer every concern. Result: minimal unexpected turnover.
Frisco Corporate Center Opening (2024): 500+ associates moved into new 15-story building; largest modernization undertaking. Negotiated special call center configuration for team cohesion. Recognized as "Change Champion."
Impact
- 3,000+ associates transitioned through multiple office/seating changes without major disruption
- 44% real estate efficiency achieved through hoteling adoption and space optimization across locations
- Multi-million dollar modernization investments delivered on time and on strategy
- 6 locations successfully modernized or consolidated
- Maintained morale through unprecedented change, no retention crisis despite high-stakes transitions
- Recognition: Values Champion, Change Champion across multiple projects
This work demonstrates that modernization and culture are not enemies. They're the same problem.
Most organizations think: "Invest in offices" or "Maintain culture." I proved you can do both simultaneously if you: (1) Separate what needs to happen from how you do it, (2) Build structure that scales leadership without bottlenecking, (3) Show up personally and prove you're going through it too.
This is what enterprise transformation looks like: reshaping how organizations approach change, not just executing plans.
Revolver
Architecting Enterprise
Content for Infinite Reuse.
Enterprise LCMS separating content from delivery, enabling publish-once, deploy-everywhere at Fortune 500 scale.
The Market Moment (2001)
In the early 2000s, companies were moving training from classrooms to networks and the internet. But they faced a critical problem: they were building content in silos. A course built for web-based learners couldn't easily become a paper job aid. Training teams rebuilt the same knowledge multiple times, for different mediums, different contexts, different audiences.
The Insight: Content Separation
The core innovation: Separate what you're teaching from how you're teaching it.
Before Revolver, content and delivery were locked together. Changing the look and feel meant rebuilding the entire course. Delivering to a new audience meant starting over. Revolver inverted that model. Authors entered content once. The platform published everywhere.
My Role: Knowledge Architect + Translator
I wasn't just building software. I was architecting how enterprises should think about knowledge structure. My unique blend: Knowledge Architecture (structured content for reuse), Instructional Design (built learning science into the structure), UX Design (made structured thinking easy, not bureaucratic), and Global Trainer & Sales Engineer (traveled the world teaching enterprises how to think differently about knowledge as organizational infrastructure).
The Real Innovation: Separation of Concerns
This principle (separating content from context, delivery, and design) was radical for 2001. Today, we call this "API-first thinking" or "headless content." Revolver was doing it two decades early.
For enterprises, it meant: 50-80% reduction in content development time, dramatically faster time-to-publish (days instead of weeks), consistency across contexts, sustainability (content stayed evergreen and reusable), and scalability (large organizations could manage knowledge as infrastructure).
Revolver demonstrated a principle that shapes everything I do today: The best systems don't force people into one way of working, they let knowledge and design scale according to context.
That principle shows up in CareerSpark (content adapts to learner level and style), my workplace modernization work (one design for multiple contexts), and my core operating principle: "Systems First, Humans Always." I learned early that transformation happens when you separate what needs to happen from how it happens.
Building Blocks
The Foundation of
Systems Thinking.
Multiple domains, one pattern: learning how organizations learn, hire, work, and scale, building the pattern recognition that informs everything I do today.
Continuous evolution across domains: designing systems that help people do their jobs better.
The contexts changed (learning platforms, hiring systems, workplace tools, career development) but the challenge remained constant: translate complexity into usability, build for adoption not just launch, never lose sight of the humans using the system.
Six Eras of Evolution
The Early Years: Learning to Build at Scale
Horizon Interactive → Lucent Technologies
Led implementation of L-Channel satellite TV network delivering training to 200,000+ employees worldwide. Reduced training costs 80%. Recognized with Enterprise Networks Gold President's Award for Team Excellence.
The Internet Era: Information Architecture & UX
iXL, Inc. → Senior Information Architect
Redesigned Budget.com booking engine and eCollege assessment platform. Pioneered information architecture and usability testing methodologies for early internet applications.
The Learning Systems Era: Enterprise Scale
Interactive Media → FT Knowledge → Pearson → Vangent
Architected Revolver LCMS (detailed in separate case study), deployed at three Fortune 500 companies. Traveled internationally training enterprise teams on knowledge infrastructure. Held multiple leadership roles spanning product design, sales engineering, and implementation.
The Talent Systems Era: Hiring at Scale
Vangent Human Capital → Sales Engineer & Web Manager
Led corporate website redesign following major rebrand. Sold and implemented enterprise Applicant Tracking System to Extra Space Storage and U.S. Department of Commerce for 2010 Census hiring operations.
The Management Systems Era: Tools for Leaders
TIAA → Management Systems Designer & SharePoint Admin
Architected comprehensive Management Systems suite covering Change, Finance, People, Operations, and Quality Management. Scaled SharePoint governance to 200+ sites supporting 2,000-employee organization.
2020: Virtual Career Fair – Innovation Under Pressure
TIAA → Business Manager
When pandemic eliminated in-person career events, saw opportunity to solve long-standing inequity. Previously, only associates at major offices (Denver, Charlotte, NYC) could attend. Regional and smaller offices were systematically excluded. Designed and launched fully interactive virtual career fair reaching 800+ associates (700+ in first week). Solution replicated by 3+ teams, becoming model for equitable virtual engagement. Earned first double-EXCEPTIONAL performance rating.
This evolution across domains wasn't a winding path. It was deliberate pattern recognition across different contexts. I learned how people actually learn, how systems scale, how technology gets adopted, how organizations make decisions, and how to design for humans while thinking systematically.
That's why I can lead AI transformation, career development, and workplace modernization simultaneously. I'm not guessing. I'm applying pattern recognition across multiple domains.
Let's Talk.
I'm actively exploring Director and VP-level opportunities in Colorado where I can lead career development, AI transformation, or workforce modernization initiatives. I'm currently at TIAA (available July 2026 due to Denver office closure) and am committed to staying in Colorado with my family. I'm looking for organizations that value local talent and are rethinking how they develop people, adopt AI, or modernize the workplace.
Director / VP roles in Colorado or remote, focused on career development, AI transformation, workforce strategy, or organizational development
Available July 2026
TIAA closing Denver office; choosing to stay in Colorado
Based in Arvada, Colorado
Committed to Colorado-based opportunities
Contact Information
Colorado is home. The quality of life, work-life balance, and ability to do my best work here align with my values. I'm looking for organizations that value local talent and are committed to building in Colorado.
- Permanent full-time roles (Colorado-based or remote)
- Interim leadership positions
- Advisory and consulting engagements
- Fractional executive roles
Whether you're a hiring manager, recruiter, or fellow leader exploring collaboration opportunities, I'd welcome the conversation.