UAlbany, Fulbright Alum Developing Leadership Center in His Home Country

After returning home to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in 2024, UAlbany and Fulbright alum Joel Kapapa '24 MA immediately launched into one of his most meaningful ethical leadership projects to date.

In April 2025, Joel and his team were honored with a prominent, competitive grant award from the U.S. Department of State to begin development on the Ethical Servant Leadership Project/Center in Kinshasa, DRC. This deserving news is quickly traveling not only across the DRC but other parts of the world.

The DRC is currently fraught with internal and regional conflict, poverty and human rights issues. Joel's country is heavily rich in natural resources, like highly valued mineral deposits, that make the DRC an attractive destination for globalization. His vision is to instill a new paradigm of ethical leadership, beginning with the decision-making structure of DRC and then spanning across the world.

Joel (pronounced like "Noel" in DRC's French language) graduated from UAlbany with a master's degree in philosophy in January 2024. As a UAlbany student, he chose a thesis topic that supported his aspirations for using ethical leadership to make change at the international level, and was selected to present his thesis, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Ethical Leadership and Common Good, at UAlbany Showcase. He also lectured in the French Department and was a Dean's Merit Scholarship recipient.

When Joel joined the Great Dane family in 2022, he had just published one of his four leadership ethics focused books: Ethical Leadership for Greater Happiness. His most recent book, The Power of Love, Not the Love of Power: To Create a Just and Beloved Society with the Power of Love and Integrity, was published in 2024.

Joel continues his higher education learning at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Find out more about Joel and his leadership work on LinkedIn and the Ethical Servant Leadership Center website.