Joseph M. Madda, a would-be polymath, has been high school valedictorian, ball park and church usher, painter and sculptor, multi-state licensed architect, museum and botanic gardens docent, adult literacy and SAT tutor, high school debate coach, public speaker, design consultant, naturalist, and haiku-writing bon vivant. Believing communication is essential to successful human endeavors, he has concentrated on speaking and writing skills throughout his life. He has taught public speaking to numerous others and delivered over 1,000 speeches and presentations to groups large and small. He authored many technical articles in design and construction trade publications. In addition to short fiction, he writes nonfiction about personal communications skills at his online blog, theheadandtheheart.org, as well as commentary on current design in the Midwest through his episodic series on LinkedIn and Facebook, "Midwest Modernism Now".