Joseph P. Tierney joined the University of Pennsylvania in September 2002 as the Executive Director of the Robert A. Fox Leadership Program.
Mr. Tierney was previously Vice President of Public/Private Ventures where he was instrumental in developing several nationally recognized programs including the Youth Education for Tomorrow (YET) literacy centers, the Amachi mentoring program for the children of prisoners, Bridges to Work and the Youth Violence Reduction Partnership (YVRP). He has conducted research and developed programs in the areas of youth violence reduction, after-school programming, literacy, mentoring, employment and training, welfare reform, community development, national service and youth corps. He is the Principal Investigator of the landmark evaluation of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, Making a Difference: An Impact Study of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America.
Mr. Tierney has an extensive list of published articles and reports, including Murder is No Mystery, Overcoming Roadblocks on the Way to Work and op-eds for The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer and The Philadelphia Daily News. He serves on the Board of Directors of Philadelphia After-School Activities Partnerships (ASAP) and previously served on the Boards of other youth-serving organizations. In 2001 he received the Philadelphia Business Journal's "40 under 40" award which annually recognizes 40 individuals under 40 years of age who are making their mark in their professional fields and in their communities. In 2014, he was selected for the National Mentoring Hall of Fame in Dallas.
He holds an undergraduate degree from Saint Joseph's University and an M.A. from Princeton University.