The son of immigrant parents from Eritrea , Joe has spent much of his life in Colorado , working hard to pursue the American Dream once sought by his parents. He attended the University of Colorado at Boulder , graduating in 2005 Summa Cum Laude with degrees in Economics and Political Science. While at CU, Joe was elected Student Body President, the youngest to hold the position in decades.
 His organizing skills and public-speaking skills helped him become the CU Inter-campus Student Forum Chair, the first African-American to ever hold the position. As Chair, Joe represented the voice of over 55,000 students to state agencies, and was a frequent speaker at State Legislative Committee hearings and Regent meetings. He co-founded and directed the "Fund our Future" Campaign, a grass-roots campaign aimed at increasing state funding for public higher education, and was recognized statewide for his efforts.
Joe has spoken across the State and the Nation on numerous issues, and has appeared on several news outlets, including MSNBC News and the Wall Street Editorial Report to name a few. He has been recognized widely for his efforts, receiving awards from the City of Boulder , the Denver AFL-CIO, and was the first student ever to be bestowed "Emeritus" standing by the University of Colorado-Board of Regents.
 Following graduation Joe worked at the Colorado State Capitol as the Assistant to the Speaker of the Colorado House of Representatives, Representative Andrew Romanoff. Under the Speaker's tutelage, Joe worked on a number of projects and inter-agency communications, serving for both the regular session and an emergency session called by Governor Owens in the summer of 2006.
Joe is currently a second-year law student at the University of Colorado , where he serves as the President of his Class. He continues to remain politically active, recently serving as the Co-founder and Board Chair for "New Era Colorado," a non-profit that works to engage youth in the political process. He also was recently appointed by the Boulder City Council to a five-year term as Commissioner on the Boulder Housing Authority.
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