Joe Symons

Armed with a secondary school education from Phillips Exeter, a B.A. cum laude from Amherst College, a MS and a Phd from the University of Washington, Joe has served as a software engineer for various startups, a professor of Urban and Regional Studies, a 20 year volunteer firefighter, a tenacious advocate for sustainable and wise preservation of limited and vulnerable island habitats, an author, a crystal-glaze ceramic pioneer, a designer and contractor.

Joe first came to Orcas in 1968 and built his house in 1973. He has served on the boards of several Orcas Island non-profits and provides incubation, financial and infrastructure support for several island organic farms. He is currently president of the board of Island Stewards.