Joe Rydell, Committee on Trustees Chair, Scholarship Committee Chair, and President Emeritus
Joe is a Vermont native and settled in Park Slope over 35 years ago. He spent many years working in the entertainment industry as an actor, producer and casting director, and founded and served for many years as Artistic Director of The New Math Theatre Company. He is a psychotherapist in private practice, and in his spare time has volunteered extensively for his son’s PTAs: the Berkeley Carroll School, the Brooklyn Prospect Charter School, and most recently, Bard High School Early College, where he served as the Vice President of the college division. While at Berkeley Carroll, Joe founded and curated the Parent Documentary Film Series, which celebrated the talented, local documentarians in our community.
Joe’s involvement with the Civic Council began over 15 years ago as a volunteer for the House Tour. He subsequently served as a trustee from 2012-2021, and has participated in several Civic Council committees. He has derived particular satisfaction as the Chair of the Scholarship Committee, which annually awards four community service scholarships to students from local high schools. Joe most recently served for 2+ years as the President of the Civic Council, and previously served as the Vice President for 5 years. He is also a recipient of the Evelyn and Everett Ortner Preservation Award. Joe’s civic, school and community involvements have been extremely important to him, but his greatest accomplishment and joy has been being a parent and raising his now grown son, a recent college graduate.