As Vice President, General Counsel (since 1994) and Secretary of the Foundation, Josh is responsible for the overall legal affairs of the Foundation worldwide and is a member of the Executive Leadership Team that advises the President of the Foundation on policy matters and strategic direction. He also coordinates the work of MacArthur Advisory Services, an initiative of the Foundation through which MacArthur staff with appropriate expertise advises other foundations, corporate donors, and individual donors on a range of issues and questions and help connect such donors to other external resources when appropriate. He is an officer and on the board of various affiliates of the Foundation, including current Board Chair of Arc Chicago LLC, the fund established by the Foundation to make investments to further the Benefit Chicago initiative.
Prior to joining the Foundation, Josh was a partner with the law firm of Sidley Austin LLP, specializing in commercial litigation and business reorganization, including real estate restructurings.
Josh has served on a variety of not for profit Boards and committees. He was the Chairman of the Board of Security Council Reports, a charitable organization whose mission is to make the work of the Security Council more effective and transparent, from 2014-2017. He also served on the Board of Collective Shift (and on the Audit Committee), a not for profit organization dedicated to redesigning social systems for the connected age, prior to its merger with Southern New Hampshire University. He was a member of the Board of Directors of the Council on Foundations where he was the Chairman of the Audit Committee and member of the Governance Committee from 2011 through 2017. Josh was also a member of the Board of Directors of the Donors Forum from 2003-2009, where, during various periods, he served as the Treasurer, the Chair of the Audit/Finance Committee, and the Chairman of the Compensation/Benefits Committee. He was also member of the Legal Framework Work Group of the Panel on the Nonprofit Sector convened by Independent Sector. He currently serves on the Board of the Francis W. Parker School, an independent private school, where he is Chairman of the Audit Committee. Josh is past President and a current member of the Board of Directors of the Juvenile Protective Association, a not-for-profit organization providing counseling and other services to children at risk and their families.
Josh received his J.D. from the University of Miami School of Law, magna cum laude, in 1981. He teaches a one week short course on Emerging Forms of Philanthropy and the Role of Private Foundations in Effecting Social Change at the Law School. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree in history/education from the University of Colorado.