About Us: Joe Ehrmann's Bio

Joe Ehrmann is married to Paula and is the father of four children. He was an All-American football player at Syracuse University and also lettered in lacrosse. Joe has been named to Syracuse’s All-Century Football Team and is also a recipient of the University’s most distinguished alumni honor for his contributions to society. He played professional football for 13 years and was selected as the Colts Man of the Year and the very first Ed Block Courage Award Winner.

Joe and his wife Paula, a psychotherapist, are co-founders of Building Men & Women for Others (BMWO) which holistically addresses issues of masculinity and femininity. BMWO also seeks to redefine and reframe the social responsibility of sports, coaches, parents and players as well addressing issues of violence and child advocacy. In addition, they are the co-founders of The Door, an inner-city, community-based ministry that addresses issues of poverty, systemic racism and social justice. He was selected by the Baltimore Business Journal as the Renaissance Person of the Decade for his dedication and commitment to Baltimore City’s betterment. Joe is also the co-founder of Baltimore’s Ronald McDonald House, which has served over 35,000 families from all over the world since its inception. For years, Joe has addressed the issues of child abuse and domestic violence and is the recipient of the National Fatherhood Initiative’s Man of the Year Award for his work in improving the well being of children by helping fathers become more involved, responsible, and committed to their children. He also was selected as the Frederick Douglas National Man of the Year Award for empowering male youth and the institutions that serve them to work as allies with women in preventing rape and other forms of male violence.

Joe has been featured on the cover of Parade Magazine (8/29/04) which called him “The Most Important Coach in America” because of his work to transform the culture of sports by reframing and redefining the social responsibility of coaches, parents and players. He is also is the subject of the NY Times Bestseller Season of Life by Jeffrey Marx, published by Simon and Schuster. During and following his football career Joe matriculated at Dallas Theological Seminary and Westminster Theological Seminary and was ordained in 1985. An inspirational and dynamic speaker and seminar leader, Joe Ehrmann works with corporate, civic, and community organizations and associations to promote growth, teamwork, effectiveness and individual responsibility.