Paul has served as executive director of CommunityWorks since its inception, and concurrently serves as executive director of Lewis and Clark Regional Development Council.  A Vietnam veteran, graduate of Valparaiso University, and former newspaperman, he moved to North Dakota from Indiana in 1979 to assume the position of land use and housing planner with the regional council, later being named its economic development specialist and deputy director before being appointed executive director in 1984.

 In 2004 he received the Champion of Affordable Housing Leadership Award from the North Dakota Housing Finance Agency.  He is the first graduate of NeighborWorks America’s Management and Leadership Program of Study, and he recently completed the 18-month Achieving Excellence in Community Development program through Harvard University.  Paul serves on many boards and committees, including the National NeighborWorks Association board and advisory committee; the Affordable Housing Advisory Committee for the Federal Home Loan Bank in Des Moines; and the executive board of the North Dakota Rural Development Council.

Paul and his wife Jennifer live in Bismarck and have two grown children.