Writer/Producer; Founder, Senior Poverty Prevention Project
Princeton, NJ
Joseph Seldner has more than 35 years of experience in journalism, entertainment and non-profits. He began his career as a journalist, earning a Pulitzer Prize nomination, then moved to the entertainment world, at Columbia Pictures, then as creative executive for Tom Hanks, and later producing the HBO film “61*” (Billy Crystal, director) and other independent projects, and starting the news department for the largest cable TV company in the country.
Returning East to raise his young children as a single dad (his best work), Joe served as a speechwriter to a governor, wrote a screenplay about a woman who spent ten years in a Texas prison for a murder she didn’t commit, and continued to write about a wide range of topics, from politics to social issues to parenting, for several publications. He continues to develop film and television projects. Joe has taught seminars on screenwriting and idea development, been a speaker at film festivals, and worked with dozens of actors and producers.
Keenly aware of the massive but largely overlooked issue of senior poverty, he founded the non-profit Senior Poverty Prevention Project, aimed at raising awareness of this issue that affects millions of people over 50 in America who have no money saved for the many years they may yet have to live.
In 2013, Joe climbed to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro, has played touch football weekly – and weakly – since 1995, and is always seeking new challenges and adventures. He has an MBA from Yale, and degrees in journalism and psychology from Columbia, and is the proud father of two and grandfather of three.