Joann is a 2006 graduate of Sheldon High School. Joann is also a graduate of The University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa and The University of Maine School of Law in Portland, Maine. During law school, Joann was selected to be a Fellow in the Worker and Immigrant Rights Advocacy Clinic at Yale Law School and spent time in Seattle, Washington defending detained youth for Kids in Need of Defense, a national non-profit. Following law school, Joann moved to Washington D.C. to work on federal immigration policy for the National Immigrant Justice Center, focusing on issues impacting unaccompanied children and asylum seekers. Most recently Joann worked for the ACLU of Maine and was the Advocacy Director for Preble Street, the largest nonprofit in Maine that provides direct services to and policy solutions for those experiencing homelessness, housing, and poverty. Now, Joann is the Deputy Secretary of State - Policy Advisor in the Secretary of State's office for the State of Maine. She is the first woman of color in the history of the state to hold this position.