Joshua B Rales

Joshua B. Rales was born in Pittsburgh and raised in Bethesda, Maryland along with his three brothers. He attended local public schools, and graduated from Walt Whitman High School in 1975. After graduating from the University of Virginia and Georgetown University Law Center, Rales set out to build a business of his own. In 1984, Rales founded RFI Associates, and over the last 21 years, he has built RFI into one of the leading investment companies in the area, specializing in acquiring, renovating, and overseeing real estate projects. Because Josh Rales has always been committed to helping the community around him, several years ago he and his wife Debra established the RFI Foundation, an organization dedicated to improving education and health care in Maryland. Together with Montgomery County Public Schools, they created the Ruth Rales Comcast Kids Reading Network, which pairs adult volunteers with second-grade students who need help learning to read. In its first year in operation, the Kids Reading Network won the National Civic Star Award from the American Association of School Administrators. Today, the Network helps more than 600 students in more than 50 schools improve their reading skills. In addition to its work with Montgomery County Schools, RFI also contributes to the Living Classrooms Foundation, which has achieved outstanding results educating middle-school children in the City of Baltimore. Through their work with public schools, Josh and Debra Rales saw firsthand the connection between a child’s health and his/her education. That’s why they have formed a public-private partnership with Montgomery County to purchase a new Mobile Medical unit that will provide medical care to the uninsured. Over the years, Josh and Debra have also been leaders in chairing events and organizing fundraising campaigns for the Jewish Social Service Agency, Israel Bonds, the Washington Hospital Center Foundation, and the Walk for Hope to Cure Breast Cancer. Married 19 years, Josh and Debra have two children.