Joe Erpenbeck

Consultant and ABCD Institute Faculty Member

Working Together

Projects and Impact

Stories

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Transforming the Routine

Transforming the Routine

This underpass in Vancouver was often a dark and dull part of many walking, running or biking routes. As I biked through last...

Art of Community Building

Art of Community Building

“The Happiest Days of Our Lives #1 – 6” was created by Ann Weber and is made from cardboard boxes salvaged ...

My Great Day In…

My Great Day In…

On this Earth Day I recall a community event some neighbours and I hosted several years ago. This event was held in a nearby ...

Something To Cultivate

Something To Cultivate

In a nearby neighbourhood I discovered a free seeds container. I stopped and checked it out and there were seeds for all kind...

Mending

Mending

The Yoko Ono “Mend Piece” exhibit was an interactive exhibit. You were invited to sit a table with others and men...

Politics Aside

Politics Aside

I wrote this several years ago but seems more relevant today. I had completed a week of work and was happy to be on a flight ...

It’ll Look Like This

It’ll Look Like This

I met a street artist last week in the nearby skate park and he was holding a can of spray paint and evaluating the start of ...

Get Outside

Get Outside

This is a post I wrote 2 years ago, but seems even more a timely as we have been navigating through 2 years of pandemic restr...

“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