In the community, non profit realm, Joseph Kruth is a Founder and Chair of the Tahoe Center for a Sustainable Future, and a Founder and former Director of the Tahoe Truckee Regional Economic Coalition, two non-profit organizations dedicated to creating a sustainable future in the Tahoe region, to which he has volunteered his time. The Tahoe Center is a community-based, non profit which develops a sustainability curriculum program for K-12 teachers and promotes information access and better decisions through electronic communications and use of the Internet (http://www.ceres.ca.gov/tcsf). Both programs have been widely acclaimed as innovative, resourceful, and valuable.
In the for profit realm, he has 30 years experience in business, development, finance and investments. He has held staff and executive positions in marketing, finance and administration for firms in energy, pollution control, high-rise real estate development, merchant banking and aerospace, as well as practicing business and real estate law for four years in Los Angeles. As President of Arete, Inc., he provides strategic planning, project creation, development, and management services, working on international projects in Russia and Hong Kong. As an example, he organized and led a team of redevelopment specialists to Kaliningrad, Russia in December 1991, performing the first institutional and economic survey of any Soviet/Russian region. The team then represented the region at investment conferences in New York and with the multilateral agencies such as the World Bank.
He was a member of the Advisory Committee to the California Resources Agency for the California Environmental Resources Evaluation System (CERES), its innovative program on the Web,. He regularly organizes conference tracks for the World Future Society, including Pathways to Sustainability, from which the book of the same title is now available. See Articles and Publications for more information.
He holds a B.S. degree in chemical engineering from the University of Pittsburgh, an M.A. degree in economics from the University of Southern California, and a J.D. (law) degree from U.C.L.A (California Bar in 1977). He has spent over three years outside the United States, traveling to 50 countries for business and pleasure. He believes in teamwork, long-term goals, responsible commitments to achieve them, and creating a sustainable future.
"Sustainable Communities, Globalization and Increasing Complexity," published in Future’s Research Quarterly, Summer 1998.
Pathways to Sustainability, co-editor, with Andrew Cohill (1999)
"Entering the Age of Transformation: Choosing the Destiny of Humanity in the 21st Century", chapter published in Pathways to Sustainability (1999)
"Transformation in Action: An Emerging Future Framework", co-author with Rick Smyre, chapter published in Pathways to Sustainability (1999)
"Education and the Consumer Society," in prepublication summary, for the UNESCO Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (1999)
"Creating a Sustainable Future: The Challenge for the 21st Century." Tahoe Truckee Regional Economic Coalition Conference, Lake Tahoe (1993)
"Regional Community Development through Collaboration." World Future Society, Boston, MA (1994)
"Creating Sustainable Societies and Communities: Collaborating to Manage Change at a Regional Level." Society for the Advancement of Socio-Economics: Paris, France (1994)
"Community Collaboration: Practical Aspects of Sustainable Development." President’s Council on Sustainable Development, Western Regional Team on Natural Resources Management and Protection Workshop, Lake Tahoe, NV (1994)
"Applying Insights from Chaos Theory to Sustainable Development." World Future Society, Atlanta, GA (1995)
"Information Technologies and Regional Sustainability." Tahoe Truckee Forum, Lake Tahoe (1995)
"Sustainability Education and Information Technologies." Government Conference on the Environment, Sacramento, CA (1995)
"Complexity and Systemic Transformation in American Communities: The Science and the Practice." World Future Society. Washington, D.C. (1996)
"Evolution of Sustainability Thinking." (moderator), World Future Society. Washington, D.C. (1996)
"The Potential of Technology at a Regional Level." Tahoe Truckee Forum, Lake Tahoe (1996)
"Current Trends and Sustainability." (moderator), World Future Society. San Francisco, CA (1997)
"Strategies, Tools and Resources for Sustainability." World Future Society. San Francisco, CA (1997)
"Pathways to Sustainability: Methodologies and Tools for a Sustainable Future." Professional Members Forum. World Future Society. San Francisco, CA (1997)
"Technology, Values and the Future." Federal Webmasters Consortium Conference, Washington, D.C. (1997)
"Technology and Values in the 21st Century." Cape Cod Regional Conference, Cape Cod, MA (1997)
"Shaping the Global Agenda for a New Millenium.(moderator)" Conference Track: Pathways to Sustainability II. World Future Society. Chicago, IL (1998)
"Ethics, Values and Relationships." World Future Society. Chicago, IL (1998)
"New Civilizations for a New Millenium." Northeast Nebraska Regional Economic Development Conference, Norfolk, NE (1998)
"Transformation in Action: An Emerging Future Framework." Conference Track: Pathways to Sustainability III. World Future Society, Washington, D.C. (1999)
"Emerging Meta-Networks of Transformation." World Future Society, Washington, D.C. (1999)