Associate
“I would say I’m a beast. Because I feel like one. Because I’m energetic.” — Confident and cool with a great sense of humor, Joe Leonard is one of DSJ’s financial service associates who juggles various responsibilities all with his infectiously positive outlook and humorous personality.
Born and raised in Hicksville, Long Island, Joe attended Molloy College where he earned his BS in Accounting. It was at school that Joe met his current girlfriend, Cooper. “We both played lacrosse… and met at a party. I told her I loved her the first day and we’ve been together since junior year of college.”
Saying that lacrosse is a favorite pastime of Leonard’s is an understatement. It’s not just a hobby; it’s been a fundamental part of his life since he was young.
“My dad used to play lacrosse and he was my coach growing up,” says Joe. “We actually coach together now, which is cool.” Leonard is a proud part-owner of a Long Island summer club team called Hitman Lacrosse. “It’s a younger, high school club team, and we’re [pretty good].” Joe spends most days right after work at practice with the team and his weekends coaching and cheering them on at tournaments. It’s a busy life, but it’s all worth it to give back to the sport that has given him some of his greatest memories.
Among those memories—and perhaps Joe’s greatest accomplishment to date—was playing for the U.S. Under 19 Men’s Lacrosse (U19) team while he was in college. “That was freshman year of college. They took the All Americans from high school… and picked the team from that.” He spent that summer traveling all around America—from Texas to Maryland to local Long Island and New Jersey tournaments. After traveling the states, Joe and the U19 team made it to Finland for three weeks participating in the world games. “We got a gold medal and got some pretty cool rings… we got to play and meet kids across the country and other places and we made some good connections. I still keep in touch with some of those people.”
Ironically enough, one of those connections is Joe’s friend and DSJ coworker, Stephen Jahelka. “Me and Stephen used to play against each other when we were younger. Our club teams were rivals. I played for Express and he played for FLG, so we never actually played together until the U19 team.”
Joe’s life isn’t all LAX, but it is pretty heavily dominated by his passion for athletics. “I love sports and going to the gym when I can.” And when he can’t? No gym, no problem. When Joe’s hard at work, he’ll make his own gym next to his desk for a quick set of mid-day pushups to get the blood flowing. His unique ability to keep things light while getting the job done is among Joe’s best qualities and what makes him a strong asset for our financial services team and a helpful mentor to DSJ’s junior staff and interns.
“I like doing the social end of our work: meetings, calling people, talking with clients. The people we work with, I feel like it’s a good group and I enjoy talking to and being around them all day,” he says.
So how does such a busy and active guy relax? “Going fishing,” he says. “[My friends and I] go right off the beach and just cast out.” If not with friends, you can find him chilling out with Cooper and her dog, Lulu. “We do everything together. Everything. Coops wants to go skydiving. That would be cool. I just want to go to Hawaii and beach it out all day.”
Ultimately, Joe doesn’t ask for much, because it’s the simple things that matter most. “But I do want a cool office one day,” he admits. “Then I can play Lil Wayne. And country music.”
But overall? “I just want to be happy. Pretty simple.”
Get to know my favorite…
- Book: I’m a SparkNotes guy
- Movie: Anchorman
- TV Show: Law and Order SVU
- Singer: Lil Wayne
- Music Genre: Everything: Rap, Country, Blink182, Alternative, Rock
- Color: Green
- Food: Veal
- Sports: Football: Jets, Baseball: Yankees, Hockey: Islanders
Sincerely,
Devin McQuillan
Associate, Creative Solutions
Contact:
516-541-6549 | Email