Daring ventures to create a more inclusive world.
Josh Miller (they/he)
“I’ve long believed that being visible can shift culture, and that sharing our stories can be the catalyst that changes how people see and move through the world.”
Josh Miller is a queer changemaker, nonprofit visionary leader and international public speaker who takes an insightful and ambitious approach to creating a more inclusive world. His values-based leadership is rooted in curiosity, creativity, courage, and connection.
Miller is the co-founder + CEO of IDEAS xLab and co-founder of (Un)Known Project. Their work has been featured by The New York Times, The Aspen Institute, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
He is a 2022 Soros Equality Fellow, received the 2022 Nonprofit Visionary Leader Award from Louisville Business First and was selected for Business Equality Magazine’s Forty LGBTQ+ Leaders under 40 and Louisville Business First's Forty under 40. Miller is a 2x TEDx speaker and has engaged audiences at Fortune 500 companies and international conferences from Kentucky to Salzburg.
As an artist, entrepreneur, and outdoor explorer he creates Wearable Photos™ through Josh Miller Ventures and ran the Gay Games Marathon in 2018. Miller has been described as a "force in our community,” having participated in fellowships including the Colorado Collective Leadership Initiative, CBCA Leadership Arts, and the National Leadership Academy for the Public’s Health.
Miller holds an MBA from Indiana University and an undergraduate degree in Art Administration and Business Administration from Bellarmine University. Previously, he served as an advisor to the Derby Diversity & Business Summit and co-chair for the Louisville Health Advisory Board’s Communications Committee, and a founding Board Member of Civitas: Regional LGBTQ Chamber of Commerce headquartered in Louisville, KY.
In addition to his outdoor explorations, Miller celebrates the brilliance and strength of LGBTQ+ and Black communities through photography and collaborative storytelling - challenging traditional notions of beauty, and working to make spaces inclusive for individuals who don’t drink alcohol.
His work has been featured by The New York Times, the Aspen Institute, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and County Health Rankings & Roadmaps, Louisville Business First, The Voice of Louisville, Business Equality Magazine, The Renewal Project, Creating Healthy Communities: Arts + Public Health in America, The Advocate, and more.
Josh’s presentation on IDEAS xLab’s Our Emotional Wellbeing starts at 7:45 as part of the “Addressing Social Determinants of Health through the Arts” session during Creating Healthy Communities: Arts in Public Health Florida 2019.
Media Features
We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Josh Miller a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Josh thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?
“People hear that IDEAS xLab is an arts and culture nonprofit and put us in a very specific box. They underestimate the power of art, and the impact artists can have when it comes to working across sectors to design initiatives to transform systems, people’s sense of belonging, and how we communicate and collaborate.
Our creativity propels what we do, and it’s amplified by how we’ve experienced the world and backgrounds including business development, storytelling, and experience design.”
On a Kentucky Riverbank, a Path to Remembrance by Maggie Jones for The New York Times, features (Un)Known Project in Louisville - both a memorial to enslaved people whose stories will never be uncovered, and a challenge to unearth narratives hidden in attics and archives. Photos by Andrew Cenci.
My piece “Moving From Thin to Strong” in the January 2020 issue of The Voice of Louisville explores how and why I started taking ballet as part of the Louisville Ballet’s Mind Body Balance program.
I am honored to be recognized as part of Business Equality Magazine’s 2020 Forty LGBTQ+ Leaders under 40. You can read my profile and learn more about the class of 2020 here.
See the full Louisville Business First Forty under 40 issue here.
