Josh was born and raised in North Carolina's oldest and one of the smallest towns, Bath.  After high school, he attended and graduated from Appalachian State University with a BS is Real Estate and Urban Analysis and a minor in Appropriate Technology.  After completing a through-hike of the Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine, he settled in Raleigh with his girlfriend, Erin. They wed in 2003, and now have three children, Crafton, Reid, and Poppy.  They are members of Edenton Street United Methodist Church, which they have attended for over eighteen years. 
 
Professionally, Josh's entire career has been in real estate. He managed a large office of brokers for Coldwell Banker in Cary for ten years, and then ventured out with two partners to start a residential development and homebuilding company called Envision Homes. In 2007, he was named one of the Triangle Business Journal's Top 40 under 40 business leaders.  

In 2016, Josh participated in the Raleigh Chamber's Leadership Raleigh program where his team helped Oaks & Spokes establish a temporary bike and pedestrian path through downtown Raleigh connecting the existing greenway to Dix Park with the hope that the vision would persuade local leaders to make this a permanent path one day. Josh has served on a couple of planning boards for charitable events, including serving on the board of directors of the Me Fine Foundation.  
 
Josh joined Me Fine as a startup as one of the first board members. During his time there, their annual budget increased eight times over, and the team developed a long-term strategic plan, hired an executive director, services coordinator, and donor developer as well as established six active committees of volunteers.  
 
After stepping away from community outreach for a couple of years to focus on his family and business, Josh continued to look for the next right opportunity. Though several have crossed his radar, Josh says that he knows from experience that "I don't want to hold a board seat just to hold a seat, I want to be able to feel and see a difference from my efforts." When he received a tour of the Ship facilities and learned about its missions, he says that "the 'eureka' light switch in [him] flipped. I can't say I have a grasp of which mission I may be able to impact most at this point, but I do know they all are in line with my personal values and priorities."