
Joel grew up in Edinburgh before attending the United Word College of the Atlantic in south Wales. He studied International Relations at the London School of Economics, where he campaigned on environmental and social justice issues, was elected to the school's board of directors and later served as Treasurer of the Students' Union. He went on to work as parliamentary researcher to Chris Huhne MP during his time as Liberal Democrat shadow environment and home secretary, as well as during the 2007 leadership election campaign. He is currently working as a climate change policy advisor at the Confederation of British Industry on issues including low-carbon innovation and the future of transport. Joel will be attending Harvard's Kennedy School of Government to study towards a Masters in Public Policy.