Joanne earned her BSEd and MA in English in Missouri before starting her career as the Assistant Director of Admissions at the New York College of Podiatric Medicine. While working as a retention counselor at Molloy University in Long Island, she began her second masters in Leadership and Policy in Higher Education. She then spent four years as the Director of Admissions at Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra University before moving to the University of California, Davis where she created the Health Professions Advising department. She recently earned her EdD in Leadership and Learning at Vanderbilt University. She has been serving pre-health students for over fifteen years.