BIO

Since 2014, Josh Rael has served as the Executive Director of Alliance, a leading nonprofit association in Colorado dedicated to supporting Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) case management and provider agencies, as well as businesses and advocacy groups. Alliance serves over 50,000 individuals with disabilities and employs more than 10,000 professionals statewide. The organization is renowned for its advocacy in public policy, state legislation, and best practices to strengthen services for people with IDD.

In 2022, Josh was elected to the ANCOR Board of Directors, where he represents 58 State Association Executives (SAE) from 48 states. He chairs the SAE Network, co-chairs ANCOR’s Government Relations Committee, and serves on ANCOR’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility Leadership Committee. ANCOR is the nation’s largest IDD provider association, representing over 1,800 organizations and a workforce of more than half a million professionals serving over a million individuals with IDD.

Josh has received several notable accolades, including ANCOR’s top national public policy award, Alliance’s Colorado IDD Champion award, and the Denver Business Journal’s “40 Under 40” Award. He attended President Obama’s White House Hispanic Policy Conference in 2011 and was appointed to the Colorado Creative Industry Board in 2007.

In his spare time, Josh runs a Colorado Political Committee and has been actively involved in campaigns for decades. He has owned his own lobbying firm and has worked for the Colorado Public Defender’s Office, the Colorado General Assembly, and the Walt Disney Company. Additionally, Josh is a successful recording artist who was nominated for a Grammy in 2004 in the “Best Pop Album” and “Best Male Pop Performance” categories.

A Colorado native, Josh holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Colorado State University-Pueblo, a Juris Doctor from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law, and a Master of Public Administration in Nonprofit Management from the University of Colorado-Denver.

Josh also appeared on the Food Network in 2009, on the “Blind Date Cakes” Food Network Challenge. From 2007-2012, Josh co-owned and operated a Colorado talent management company representing musicians, actors, and models and managed a professional dance team that was featured on MTV’s America’s Best Dance Crew.

After years of training, hundreds of live performances, and many grueling auditions, Josh’s career took off with the singing of the National Anthem. Josh has had the honor to sing the National Anthem for many public figures such as President Clinton, Vice President Gore, Wayne Newton, the late Selena, Mario Lopez, and governors, senators, and representatives from around the country. The National Anthem also gave Josh the opportunity to sing at dozens of professional sporting events and venues such as, Mile High Stadium, the Pepsi Center, and Coors Field.