Today we’d like to introduce you to Joshua Foster.
Hi Joshua, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
As a native of the Philadelphia area, some of my fondest childhood memories are from drives through the city in the back seat of our family car. As my parents now tell me, they can remember me sitting in the back with the window open, intently looking at all of the buildings, studying the people going in and out of them, listening to all of the sounds of the city, and telling them all about it when we reached our destination. These experiences fostered my love for the built environment, and by my junior year of high school, I began to piece together that love of cities with the goal of pursuing architecture as a career. Fast forwarding a few years, I was blessed with the opportunity to attend Columbia University as a student-athlete, where I earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Architecture while playing Division-1 FCS college football. This experience was followed by my journey to Los Angeles, where I earned my Masters of Architecture and a Real Estate Development Certificate from the University of Southern California. The early years of my professional career were focused on the design and construction of affordable and market-rate housing projects in Los Angeles County before making a shift. In 2021, I founded the company JAF, a community-impact-focused consulting firm empowering the AEC and real estate industry with the tools to maximize impact in the built environment. Beyond my work at JAF, I serve on multiple local and national non-profit boards, teach architecture at the collegiate level, and have coached high school football in Long Beach for the past four seasons.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
My journey has been far from smooth but has indeed been one where I have learned many important lessons. One valuable lesson learned was the need to abandon the misconception that success is a linear progression of continuous victories. Initially, the roller coaster that is the entrepreneurial journey heavily influenced my perception of success on a daily basis. However, through moments of self-realization during these lows, it became clear that success does not follow a strict path and is not dictated in any given moment but instead is the unscripted culmination of how we deal with the highs and lows of our unique daily journeys. This shift in perspective led to a deeper appreciation for all experiences, recognizing that each, whether positive or negative, contributes to growth and improvement in serving others.
Thanks – so, what else should our readers know about JAF?
JAF is a community-impact-focused consulting firm that provides AEC and real estate industry professionals across the U.S. an efficient process of authentic engagement outcomes and tangible community impact returns. This impact extends beyond the design and development world through intentional grassroots communication strategies and active implementation. Our clients consist of architecture and design firms, real estate development companies, construction companies, and any organization looking to do work in underserved communities.
The purpose of JAF is to build up communities to the height of their potential by leveraging the resources of the partners in and around these communities while celebrating the unique and beautiful culture within. What I am the most proud of at this point in our company’s journey is the true impact that we have made on communities. In almost three short years, JAF has worked on over a quarter of a billion dollars worth of projects where we have facilitated resources that have impacted the lives of thousands of people.
What were you like growing up?
I was a very curious, creative, and motivated child growing up. My interests ranged from art, to baking, to sports, to music. Any given weekend, you could find me either drawing, baking a cheesecake, watching Food Network with my mom, playing sports with my friends outside, watching the Philadelphia Eagles or Michigan Wolverines football teams, or practicing the electric bass and singing at church. Whatever I was interested in, I wanted to excel at it. When specific interests turned to passions for me in high school, i.e., art and football, I became extremely motivated to be the best that I could be. Outside of that, I always knew that service to others was a calling that I had in my life, which mirrored the example set for me by my dad, who was a Pastor and still is a huge community advocate and voice in Philadelphia.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://jafcsolutions.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jafcreativesolutions/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshuafoster38/
- Other: https://www.instagram.com/jafoster_the_builder/
