Joseph T. Collins was born in 1939 and from an early age was interested in the study of herpetology, or reptiles and amphibians. At the age of 19 he joined the Ohio Herpetological Society and contributed to its tranformation into the Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles (SSAR). In 1968 he moved to Lawrence, Kansas to become the vertebrate preparator at the University of Kansas' Museum of Natural History.

In 1974 Joe founded the Kansas Herpetological Society. Throughout his career he collaborated with colleagues and wrote on his own several books related to wildlife in North America. In 1994 Joe and his wife Suzanne also established a non-profit foundation, the Center for North American Amphibians and Reptiles, which in 2000 changed its name to the Center for North American Herpetology. Joe additionally held adjunct positions with the Kansas Biological Survey, Washburn University, and the Sternberg Museum of Natural History at Fort Hays State University.

Joseph T. Collins passed away in January 2012.