James A. Joseph is Professor Emeritus of the Practice of Public Policy at Duke University. Joseph served as the United States Ambassador to South Africa from 1996 to 2000, and as the Under Secretary of the United States Department of the Interior from 1977 to 1981. He was the President and CEO of the Council on Foundations, Vice President of the Cummins Engine Company, and served as Chaplain of the Claremont Colleges. He is the recipient of numerous honorary degrees and awards, including the Order of Good Hope, South Africa’s highest award to a citizen of a foreign country. Joseph is also the author of
Epilogue: Building Community by Design
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Published:August 2015
This chapter offers a portrait of the resilience of the people of Louisiana as the author joined them in rebuilding their lives and literally remaking their state after Hurricane Katrina. As chair of the Board of Directors of the Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation set up by Governor Kathleen Blanco, he was able to help empower groups that had long been denied access to the corridors of power where decisions about their future were made. Looking back on more than fifty years of trying to integrate values into his work, Joseph concludes with his thoughts about building and sustaining community, notably his discovery that the most effective critic is the one who is willing to be a servant, and the most effective servant is the one who is willing to be a critic.
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