Joe Erpenbeck

Consultant and ABCD Institute Faculty Member

Working Together

Projects and Impact

Stories

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Growing Community

Growing Community

A few years ago I met two people who were looking for ideas on how to discover the skills, interests, gifts and connections o...

Lou Brown, A Pioneer

Lou Brown, A Pioneer

Lou Brown made me laugh until I cried. I heard Lou speak at a conference in 1993 about people with disabilities and justice. ...

Not So Hidden Gem

Not So Hidden Gem

One of my favourite places to visit when I am back in Cincinnati is Sebastians. Sebastian’s Greek Restaurant is a tiny ...

Sweet Neighbourhood Doughnuts

Sweet Neighbourhood Doughnuts

The doughnuts were works of art in the display case. There were so many colours and creative names to go with the colourful m...

A What??!!!

A What??!!!

If you were doing an asset map of my neighbourhood this “car tarp wheely board jungle gym” would have to be in it...

Pack Tracking

Pack Tracking

When I was a kid I loved to collect baseball cards. There was such excitement when I was able to get a new pack of cards. Ins...

A Day of Hope

A Day of Hope

For baseball fans Opening Day is kind of like our Christmas. Some of us count the days until spring training starts. Then all...

Revealing Connections of Interest

Revealing Connections of Interest

What do Mookie (Do The Right Thing movie), Kilgore Trout (Kurt Vonnegut novels), Bluto Blutarsky (Animal House movie), Huckle...

“Joe has created a small team of people who are moving from providing service to building community. His work has radical implications for social service and he has the results to show it. Joe’s work is done with great compassion and courage. He directs a group that is applying the asset based principles of John McKnight in new ways. The results he is achieving are significant; his group is directly bringing those on the margin into community...Joe is creating a model for care and inclusion that sets the standard for what is possible.”

Peter Block

Peter Block

Noted Cincinnati Author & Consultant

"Joe Erpenbeck is in my opinion one of the very best, if not the best community connector in North America."

John McKnight

John McKnight

Co-Director The Asset-Based Community Development Institute

"Community development is a big idea, and a thing I’ve enjoyed so much about Joe’s work is that his approachable manner allows everyone to participate and see how they could have a role. I’ve been part of this conversation with groups who have been together for a long time, having the same old conversations, and its been a gift to watch Joe lead - not push - them into the potential of new ideas in an appreciative way. Like many, I did not enter those conversations easily, and, like many, I came to really appreciate his genius (I use this work carefully) for this work."

Aaron Johannes

Aaron Johannes

www.imagineacircle.com