Biography
Jo Retals is a career social services professional, who served in Ireland, Kenya and the United States.
He now lives with his wife in Indiana, where he writes, practices Qigong and dabbles in 3D animation.
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Jo Retals’ career in social services focused on helping individuals, families and organizations adapt to adversity and disruption.
In Ireland, Jo assisted minority farmers with community building.
In Kenya, Jo organized extension education centers for rural elders.
In the Philadelphia tri-state area, Jo served as an intermediary between injured workers and their insurers.
In Phoenix, Jo worked with families, service providers, and the legal system to resolve child abuse and neglect cases.
As a Business Analyst and manager, Jo guided business units through process improvement.
In Policy, Jo worked with the public, community organizations and the Secretary of State’s office develop rules for a newly created Department.
Interviewing people and documenting their stories for employers inspired Jo to begin creating his own stories. He now publishes novels and a biweekly newsletter.
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Jo Retals grew up in the Midwest during an era when neurodivergence was neither well understood nor tolerated. Relocating every two years left him constantly trying to fit in, with sporadic success.
Battling depression and homelessness as a young adult, Jo eventually discovered a purpose for his life – helping people who were struggling to find their place in society.
Jo completed undergraduate degree at a small, private college. Afterward, he took assignments in Ireland and in Kenya, where he earned his graduate degree in Social Sciences. Field research in English and Swahili kindled a lifelong fascination with intercultural dynamics.
Interests
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Neurodivergent (and left-handed), Jo grew up feeling like a foreigner in his own culture.
While conducting Masters degree research in rural Kenya, Jo discovered the academic field of Cultural Evolution.
On his return to the United States, Jo immersed himself in this new field. He is a member of the Cultural Evolution Society.
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Jo is a member of the National Space Society. While he enjoys science fiction, sans aliens, he sees the expansion of the human economy into cis-lunar space as the defining documentary narrative of our era.
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After a multi-decade hiatus from martial arts, Jo discovered that his aging joints weren’t ready for a reprise.
He discovered Qigong, which he practices and studies through the Xiantianwujimen (Primordial Limitless Gate) Lineage.
Causes
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In 2020, after a bout of pneumonia, Jo learned about his autonomic nervous system first hand when it began to fail. Connecting with Dysautonomia International support groups enabled Jo to adapt and secure the care he required.
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Since late last century, ADDitude has curated evidence based information to assist neurodivergent people, like Jo, navigate the neurotypical world.
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After relocating from the Sonoran desert to the Great Lakes region, Jo complete a Master Gardener course, sponsored by Purdue’s Extension Education program.
During the course, he encountered Homegrown National Park, which aims to create a genuinely national nature preserve by recruiting private land owners to devote part of their land to rewilding with native plants.