Prior to starting her legal career, Joanne completed her graduate studies at the University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar with a focus on policy analysis, research and evaluation. She developed her social and economic policy expertise with various non-profit organizations and policy thinktanks across Canada, including Homeward Trust Edmonton, Mowat NFP (the non-profit research hub of the Mowat Centre), the Caledon Institute of Social Policy and the Alberta Law Reform Institute. Joanne has a long-standing research interest in issues facing the non-profit and charitable sector in Canada.

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Joanne’s areas of focus in her legal practice include labour, employment, human rights and non-profit/charity law. Prior to starting her own firm, Joanne worked in private practice at a mid-sized regional law firm, as in-house labour/employment legal counsel for a large municipality and as a labour relations officer for a large health care labour union. She has appeared before the Alberta Court of Justice, Alberta Court of King's Bench, Alberta Human Rights Commission/Tribunal, Alberta Labour Relations Board and numerous labour arbitrators/mediators in Alberta.

 

Outside of work, Joanne is an active volunteer and enjoys trail running, mountain biking, golfing and cross-country skiing in Edmonton’s beautiful river valley and the Canadian Rockies.