The Passionate Path of Pioneer Norman E. Joyner

Founder’s Day 2025 speaker Norman E. Joyner, a 1967 graduate of Shaw University, is president and CEO of NEJ Consulting. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in physical education and is a member of the Shaw University Athletics Hall of Fame.

Before assuming his current role, Joyner retired from the YMCA of the USA as a network consultant. In that position, his consultant territory included Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. His extensive executive experience with the YMCA organization proved invaluable to the services he provided, including leadership to the International Group and coordination of World Service Campaigns in the Southeast for 200 associations over a 12-year period. Representing the YMCA of the USA, he has traveled extensively to Africa, South America, Eastern and Western Europe, and the Caribbean.

Joyner’s 35-year YMCA career began at the Montclair YMCA in Montclair, New Jersey, in 1967, where he served as assistant physical director from 1967 to 1971 and physical director from 1971 to 1974. Since then, he has held progressive program and executive roles at YMCAs in Pittsburgh (1974–1980), Los Angeles (1980–1985), Winston-Salem, North Carolina (1985–1991), and Atlanta (1991–1994). He later served as a network consultant with the YMCA of the USA from 1994 to 2002.

He also served as an international consultant for the YMCA of the USA International Group, helping U.S. YMCAs develop partnerships with YMCAs in 14 African nations. His executive experience includes serving as president, chief executive officer, chief operating officer, and branch executive in YMCAs across Alabama, Georgia, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.

Joyner has been recognized as Physical Director of the Year and Community Service Leader of the Year. He was inducted into the YMCA Southeast Hall of Fame in 2019 and the National YMCA Hall of Fame in 2023, along with numerous other local and national honors. He retired from the YMCA in 2002 after a distinguished 35-year career.

A native of LaGrange, North Carolina, Joyner was inducted into the Kinston-Lenoir County Sports Hall of Fame in August 2025. In his spare time, he serves in an executive capacity with his high school alumni association and as a lead boys basketball commissioner for the Amateur Athletic Union. He is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha and Sigma Pi Phi fraternities.

Joyner and his wife of 58 years, Patricia, live in Decatur, Georgia. His wife also attended Shaw University before earning a Bachelor of Science degree in education from Newark State Teachers College.

Date: Friday, October 17, 2025
Time: 11:00 AM
Location: C.C. Spaulding Gymnasium, Shaw University, Raleigh, NC