Oral History with Joe Izzo (2026)
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Abstract
This interview is an update to the previous interview taken in 2016. Joe provides an overview of their early life as a member of the Xaverian Brotherhood, studying at a seminary in Leonardtown, Maryland, then at Catholic University, then at the University of Maryland, College Park, and then at LaSalle University. They talk about their work as a campus minister at both Catholic University and the University of Maryland College Park, before being excommunicated from the Catholic Church. They talk about working for the Quixote Center, a social justice center that was raising supplies and funds to support people of Central America. They talk about getting their master’s degree in Social Work from Howard University and their internships supporting low-income elderly populations and working for the NIH Institute on Alcohol Abuse. After graduation, they got a job at the Whitman-Walker Clinic (Now the Whitman-Walker Center).
At Whitman-Walker, Joe provided HIV education to at-risk populations before changing roles to be Whitman-Walker’s first therapist. They talk about the different populations they served as a therapist, LGBT+ people, people with AIDS/HIV, homeless people, and asylum seekers. They retired from Whitman-Walker in 2018. Since then, they have been a clinical supervisor at the DC LGBTQ+ Community Center, where they help DC Center therapists receive full licensure. They talked about the impacts of the internet on mental health and the challenges with tele-healthcare during the Covid-19 pandemic. Joe also talks about their role on the community advisory role in the SHARE (Study to Help the AIDS Research Effort) Study, which they have been a part of since the 1980s. Joe also talks about being a part of the Quaker community since the 1980s and serving as an Elder for a public minister named Kelly. They are a part of a pilot program called the Friends Incubator Project for Public Ministry.
Further Listening
- Joe Izzo (RHP Oral History 2016)
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