SAM JOSEPH:
Executive Director of Covenant House Michigan in Detroit, a faith-based nonprofit organization that provides hope to homeless, runaway, and at-risk youth ages 13–22. Within the first three years under Joseph’s leadership, Covenant House expanded to include a street outreach program, a second community service center, a job development center, and a crisis center. Detroit Public Schools authorized Covenant House to open three charter schools to better serve the needs of homeless and other at-risk youth who lack a high school diploma. Before joining Covenant House in 1997, Joseph was administrator of mental health services for the Catholic Medical Center of Brooklyn and Queens in Jamaica, N.Y. There, he developed and managed psychiatric inpatient and outpatient services for four hospitals and three long-term facilities, including programs that provided services to HIV-infected infants, adolescents, and pregnant women. Joseph also established and administered a specialized 168-bed program for mentally ill homeless adults, which became a model for the state of New York. His administrative experience dates to 1973 and includes 16 years of service to emotionally troubled young people. He has been an adjunct lecturer for post-graduate students in mental health administration at the New School for Social Research and a visiting scholar at Columbia University, both in New York City. Joseph received his bachelor’s degree from Loyola College; his Licentiate in Philosophy (LPH) in rational psychology and natural law from the College of the Jesuits in India; a master’s in fine arts communications (mass media) from Columbia University; and a post-graduate certificate in mental health administration from the New School for Social Research.
