Joseph Boykin was born in Camden, South Carolina and raised between there and on Edisto Island. He received a Bachelor’s of Science from the University of South Carolina in 1987.  Boykin served 27 years in law enforcement and retired from the U.S. Department of Justice as a Senior Special Agent in the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in 2015. He currently serves as a member of the Charleston County Board of Zoning Appeals and resides on Johns Island with his wife, Lisa Minshew, with whom he has three children.