Joining the University of Waterloo, Canada, in January 2017 to lead the pan-university advancement team, Joanne was associate dean, advancement and alumni relations, at INSEAD, France/Singapore from 2012-2016. Before INSEAD, she was vice-president of advancement at Canada's University of Guelph. In all three roles, Joanne has been responsible for managing all institutional advancement activities, including fundraising and alumni relations and initiating substantial change management and campaign preparation activities.

Joanne also has nearly two decades of experience at the University of Western Ontario, including 2 years based in Hong Kong, serving in capacities related to marketing, communications, alumni and corporate development and graduate programme management. She has been instrumental in shaping major campaigns and developing international fundraising and alumni relations initiatives. Joanne holds a bachelor's degree in English from Wilfrid Laurier University and an MBA from Ivey Business School in Canada, and has served as a volunteer CASE presenter, organizer and advisor on four continents.