Joanne is a pastor at Tibbetts United Methodist Church in West Seattle and an adjunct faculty member at the School of Theology and Ministry at Seattle University teaching church history. She graduated from Mount Holyoke College, Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary and received her Ph.D. from Boston University in church history and Historical Theology. She taught at Boston University School of Theology, PLU, St. Andrew's Theological College in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan and served churches throughout the Pacific Northwest Conference. She was ordained in the United Methodist Church in 1976 – 20 years after women received full clergy rights in the UMC.