While looking for part-time work as a performing artist, Joseph Finocchiaro was introduced to the funeral business by 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. In 2018 he also completed an Executive Juris Doctor in Law and Technology from Purdue Global Law School.
He began his funeral service journey with the E. James Reese Funeral Home & Crematory in Seminole, Florida. When the firm was acquired by the Anderson-McQueen family of funeral homes, he remained with Reese Funeral Home and later become the Funeral Director in Charge of the ALifeTribute-Gulfport Chapel.
He left funeral service for funeral service education in 2012 becoming a professor 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.
As an educator he has served as both a lecturer and clinical instructor. Joseph has been a facilitator for workshops during faculty convocations, faculty in-service days, and educator conferences. 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.
Mr. Finocchiaro 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 Cremation Operator by the International Cremation, Crematory, and Funeral Association. 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.
Over the last several years he has nurtured a YouTube channel as “Professor Fin” which is 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 Funeral Directors Association. Joseph served on several committees of the American Board of Funeral Service Education and is a Past President of that organization. He is a founding member of Impact 1000 of the Funeral Service Foundation and a member of the Order of the Golden Rule. 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 and is an Insight Certified Celebrant.
He currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors at Pierce Mortuary Colleges, Inc..