Joe (a.k.a. "Furia") came to The Freshwater Trust from the Portland office of K&L Gates LLP, a law firm of 2,000 attorneys in 41 offices worldwide, where he practiced in the areas of environmental, land and natural resources, energy regulation, corporate transactions, commercial litigation and real estate. During law school, he earned a J.D. and Certificate in Environmental and Natural Resource Law from Lewis and Clark Law School, and clerked for the U.S. Department of the Interior. Prior to law school, Furia was the business development manager for an alternative energy company where he co-managed a federal affairs program that secured $4 million in federal funding for the hybrid vehicle program, and solicited investments from accredited investors, qualified institutional investors and strategic partners. Furia graduated with a B.A. in Political Science with honors from Yale College, during which time he co-founded and served as the first editor-in-chief of the Yale Anglers Journal, and interned at the U.S. Department of State in Italy and CBS News in New York.