Joel Slack, the Founder of Respect International, is an international consultant and educator in the field of mental health. His work engages 5 years as a mental health advocate, 10 years as a senior manager in a state mental health agency and 12 years as an independent consultant and trainer.

He is a graduate of Allegheny College where he earned a degree in International Economics and Business Psychology. In 1998, while living in Sweden, Joel consulted to a regional psychiatric system and conducted training programs throughout the country. During that same year, on behalf of the Center for Mental Health Services in Washington D.C., Joel researched innovative mental health programs throughout the European continent.

Over the years, Joel has served on the National Advisory Councils of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS) and Boston University's Psychiatric Rehabilitation Program. Joel has served on several boards including the Global Initiative on Psychiatry, a Netherlands-based international human rights and mental health organization. Currently, he serves on Mrs. Rosalynn Carter's Mental Health Task Force at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library in Atlanta, Georgia.