While looking for part-time work as a performing artist, Joseph Finocchiaro was introduced to the funeral business by a longtime friend. He quickly developed a passion for it and decided to make a career change.
After earning both a Bachelor and Masters in Music Performance at the University of South Florida he switched gears and earned an Associate in Science in Funeral Service Education at St. Petersburg College.Years later, he also completed an Executive Juris Doctorate in Law and Technology from Purdue Global Law School. During his time as a musician, he was awarded the Arioso Award for Vocal Achievement at St. Petersburg College, the Semper Fidelis Award for Musical Excellence by the United States Marine Corps, the Merri Fenn Story Opera Award at the University of South Florida, and, was a winner of the 1998 Winter Music Symposium of the Florida Community Colleges Activity Association. He also won the Southern Regional Award for Creativity for an original composition by the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society.
After completing his funeral service education, he continued working at the E. James Reese Funeral Home & Crematory. When the firm was acquired by the Anderson-McQueen family of funeral homes, he stayed with the firm becoming the Funeral Director in Charge of their A Life Tribute-Gulfport chapel until leaving the industry for his first job teaching at Miami Dade College. As a lifelong performer, he found the classroom to be his new stage and after two years, he became coordinator of Funeral Service Education at Miami Dade College and remained in that role until 2023. He has served as both guest lecturer and part time instructor at various mortuary schools throughout the United States.
In January 2018, he joined the distance education faculty at the Dallas Institute of Funeral Service. In August 2023, he was appointed President of the Dallas Institute.
In January 2024, he was also appointed Chief Executive Officer and President of Pierce Mortuary Colleges, Inc. He remained in both roles until April 2024 when he stepped down from his role at the Dallas Institute. As an educator he has served as both a lecturer and clinical instructor. He has served as a facilitator for workshops during faculty convocations, faculty in-service days, and educator conferences. Believing in cross-disciplinary collaborations, he assisted a group of plastic surgeons representing a multi-national task force regarding safe and effective treatments regarding gluteal fat injections and was listed as a co-author on the paper. He has served as a military evaluator for the American Council on Education, a chapter editor for several textbooks, and published articles in both state and national publications. In 2013 he finished the requirements to become a Certified Funeral Service Practitioner from the Academy of Professional Funeral Service Practice.
He holds many industry and educator certifications including Effective Teaching Practices by the Association of College & University Educators, Teaching Online by Quality Matters, Safe Cremation Operator by the Cremation Association of North America, and Cremation Arranger and Crematory Operator by the International Cremation, Cemetery, and Funeral Association. He is also an Apple Certified Teacher. He completed executive training at the Sloan School of Executive Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology regarding business implications for artificial intelligence and is an Enterprise Design Thinking Practitioner of IBM.
An experienced educator in the field of virtual instruction, he is a certified Apple Teacher and has developed both hybrid and completely virtual courses. He served five years on the Curriculum Committee of the American Board of Funeral Service Education before being elected as Secretary/Treasurer in 2021. In 2023 he was elected to serve as President of the American Board from 2023-2025. Over the last several years he has nurtured a YouTube channel as Professor Fin dedicated to funeral service education and industry commentary reaching an audience across the United States. As an industry professional he is a life member of the Academy of Professional Funeral Service Practice and is a Certified Funeral Service Practitioner. He holds memberships with the National Funeral Directors Association, Independent Funeral Directors of Florida, and the Dallas County Funeral Directors Association. He is an honorary member and founding chapter advisor for Pi Sigma Eta Fraternity – Upsilon Psi Chapter. He was also elected to the membership of the British Institute of Embalmers.
