Joe Whalen is a founding instructor at the Blue Valley Center for Advanced Professional Studies (CAPS) in Overland Park, Kansas. CAPS aims to connect high school juniors and seniors with high-growth, high-demand professions. Joe’s initial work at CAPS involved supporting students in the Molecular Medicine and Bioengineering class and coordinating internships and independent research projects. Joe now teaches a class called Future of Food, which examines the scientific, business, and societal aspects of food and the food industry. Prior to joining the CAPS team, Joe worked in a research lab, examining gene regulation in fungal crop pathogens. Early in his career, Joe conducted vegetation surveys for the US Forest Service and fished commercially in Alaska. Joe holds a master’s degree in molecular and cellular biology from Oregon State University and a bachelor’s in environmental science from the University of Kansas.