Joy Schoffler

Communications, Investor Relations, & Marketing Strategist | Board Advisor

career accomplishments

Firms Joy worked with have raised billions in capital, gone from start-up to exit, built and scaled cutting-edge technologies, executed profitable M&A strategies, built and scaled international sales and distribution channels, closed major customers, and created massive shareholder value. She built and scaled Upside Avenue, an award-winning, tech-enabled, Public Non-traded REIT that won CRE's best new online capital raising platform and created successful acquisition channels for retail, RIAs, and institutional investors. Joy founded and sold a leading technology-focused strategic communications and marketing firm, Leverage PR.      

industry expertise

Financial Services | Defense | Cybersecurity | Maritime | Energy | Foreign and Domestic Government Affairs | Real Estate | Financial Technology | Blockchain | Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

Joy Schoffler, Principal of Distinctive Edge Partners, is an award-winning global communications strategist with decades of experience building, scaling, and protecting global public and private brands.

Distinctive Edge is a full-service communications, marketing, and events management firm serving clients across the aerospace and defense industry. It pairs deep industry expertise with creative strategies to help clients build and maximize value, improve operations, and turn risks and threats into opportunities. They are connectors that thrive on bringing the right people together to create opportunity and maximize ROI for their clients.

Joy brings a deep history of helping clients achieve business goals. Clients she has worked with have raised billions in capital, gone from start-up to exit, built and scaled cutting-edge technologies and successful programs, executed profitable M&As, grew international sales and distribution channels, closed major customers, and created significant shareholder value.

She has worked extensively across the DoW and across industries ranging from aerospace, defense, critical minerals and metals, energy, cybersecurity, AI, and financial services. Joy founded and sold strategic communications firm Leverage PR, which worked across technology and financial services, promoting global innovation, representing SXSW, the Economic Ministries of Japan, APEX Brazil, and numerous financial services firms, resulting in significant AUM increases.

As an investment leader, Joy was a partner at Ascendant Industries, evaluating middle-market cybersecurity, defense, maritime, and engineering technology deals. She served as the Chief Strategy Officer for Casoro Capital. There, she was responsible for building an award-winning, tech-enabled, public non-traded REIT, Upside Avenue. As Director of Acquisitions for The PPA Group, she underwrote and acquired $250M in real estate and helped grow the firm from 4 to 75 employees—making the “Inc. 5000” list twice.

Past and current board positions include Foundation for the Future, SXSW & AARP Accelerator, FinTech Professionals Association, and four years at CFIRA working with the SEC and FINRA on JOBS Act implementation, enabling online investing as we know it today.

A sought-after speaker and media contributor, Joy won numerous awards, including Women Communicators’ “Outstanding Communicators,” CEO Magazine “Entrepreneur of the Year,” and the Austin Under 40 award. Joy served as an officer in the Army Reserves & Texas State Guard.