Joshua Croke, 29
Founder of Action! by Design, Worcester
President & co-founder of Love Your Labels, Worcester
Residence: Worcester
Birthplace: Southbridge
College: Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Croke has been a major contributor to the growth of Worcester’s culture, including founding Love Your Labels, an inclusion and equality advocacy group; Action! by Design, a design studio helping companies create campaigns; and POW! WOW! Worcester, a mural festival now in its fourth year. They stayed as active as ever this year as the host of the Experience This Podcast, which discusses human experiences and how design and technology impact society. Croke’s role in getting POW! WOW! off the ground got them a key to the city in 2016, and other recognition has included being named a 30 Under 30 Young Trailblazer by Boston Spirit magazine for their work as a business owner and in the region’s queer community. Croke holds a board seat on the Worcester Education Collaborative and is involved with a steering committee and technology subcommittee for the Worcester Public Schools’ strategic plan. Croke is lead organizer for Queer AF: Art & Fashion Show, which brings local and regional collaborators into Worcester to tackle challenges surrounding inclusion in the fashion and entertainment industries, as part of Love Your Labels. – Profile written by Grant Welker
What TV character is most like you? If Selena Meyer from “Veep” and Moira Rose from “Schitt’s Creek” had a baby and coparented with Jonathan Van Ness from “Queer Eye” and Leslie Knope from “Parks & Recreation,” that would be me.
Favorite Central Mass. attractions? EcoTarium, Tower Hill, Mechanics Hall, ArtsWorcester, Hanover Theatre & Sprinkler Factory
What will the inscription say on the statue they eventually build of you? To learn more, scan this structure with your phone’s AR scanner.
