Joel joined the Anne Frank House board in 2013. He has chaired the Adas Israel Congregation Social Action Council since 2006, has been a member of the Adas Israel Board of Directors, and has served on the congregation’s transition, cantorial search and cantorial advisory committees. Joel retired from the U.S. Department of State in 2012 after a 49-year public diplomacy career with the State Department and the U.S. Information Agency.