Joanna is a Clinical Social Worker with experience working in the Indigenous community in Toronto in youth recreation, family & community development, child welfare, mental health and patient navigation in cancer care. Joanna integrates her Anishinaabe lived experiences and traditional teachings into her professional practice.

In her current work, she is the Regional Indigenous Cancer Lead for the Toronto Central Regional Indigenous Cancer Program. Joanna has an interest in Palliative Care, where she was the Lead in First Nation, Inuit and Métis Engagement for the Ontario Palliative Care Network in Partnership with the Indigenous Cancer Care Unit at Ontario Health. Her work continues in Palliative Care in education and research as a community facilitator for Palliative Care Training for Frontline Workers in Indigenous Communities with the Centre for Education and Research on Aging & Health at Lakehead University and as a Senior Research Coordinator in the Supporting the Journey Home: Growing the Community Bundle to Care for Those with Serious Illness in the Department of Oncology at McMaster University.

As a clinical social worker, Joanna has developed curriculum and provided instruction in the Social Service Worker and Mental Health & addictions Programs at FNTI. She is an Adjunct Lecturer/Cultural Teacher in the Masters of Social Work Indigenous Trauma and Resiliency Program in the Faculty of Social Work at the University of Toronto. In her consulting work, Joanna works in Mental Health and writes curriculum for Indigenous Social Work programs.