Joe Waters retired from a 30-year career at Johnson County, serving 10 years as Assistant County Manager with responsibilities for general government services, infrastructure, and central operations and 20 years as Director of Facilities. His extensive public service began as Assistant Director of Facilities Planning at the University of Kansas. An architecture graduate from KU, Waters also has a decade of private sector executive experience in consulting and facilities management nationwide. He is a Certified Public Manager from the University of Kansas and a graduate of the Senior Executive Institute at the University of Virginia.

Waters is a part-time instructor at the University of Kansas Public Management Center and is the President of the Arts Council of Johnson County. He has previously served on numerous community boards, including Sunflower House Child Abuse Prevention Center and the Olathe Economic Development Corporation, as well as initiatives with the Mid-America Regional Council, the American Institute of Architects, and the National Association of Counties. He resides in Johnson County, Kansas.