Joe Erpenbeck

Consultant and ABCD Institute Faculty Member

Working Together

Projects and Impact

Stories

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That’s One For The Books

That’s One For The Books

I saw the old Air Force plane from a distance as I started the bike trail around the small airport. As I completed the loop I...

“It Changed My Life”

“It Changed My Life”

Back in 2007 I had been facilitating this team of community connectors for 10 months when John McKnight visited us to hear ab...

“Love” Your Neighborhood

“Love” Your Neighborhood

“Love” your neighborhood. A team of community connectors that I support recently shared stories of the assets the...

Many Things Growing

Many Things Growing

Many Things Growing at the Community Garden The sun had just come up and was making its way over the far hillside, so mist wa...

Soaring Creativity

Soaring Creativity

The man walking up the river shore was holding a fishing pole and I was curious about what he had caught. As I got closer, I ...

Palaces For The People

Palaces For The People

“Palaces for the people” was a phrase used when businessman Andrew Carnegie donated money to build 2,950 librarie...

Small Things

Small Things

Last week I heard the story of a woman who loved dogs and had a dog rest stop built in her front yard. It includes a bench wh...

Not The Same Old Story

Not The Same Old Story

A library in rural Montana hosted a conversation with older adults asking them, ” what should young people be asking yo...

“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