Joan thrived in a successful, 35+ year career in radio during the time when FM radio was truly flourishing.  Prior to radio, she began her career as a copywriter for an international insurance company based in NYC, then an advertising agency in Hartford, CT.  In 1975, she joined WCOD-FM on Cape Cod as VP/Advertising Sales.  

In 1980, she started a 24-year run at Nassau Broadcasting in Princeton, NJ, initially as the Sales Development Manager.  In 1995, after holding several different titles, she was promoted to EVP/COO with direct responsibility for daily operations of 21 radio stations in NY, NJ and PA.

After leaving Nassau in 2004, Joan spent 9 years consulting various radio and digital media companies. Her clients included ABC-TV, Fox News, CNN, ESPN, Hulu, Microsoft, Monster.com, Sports Illustrated, CBS-TV, Pandora Radio, Time Magazine, MSNBC, the NY/NJ PATH train systems, and other well-known brands.  

As a volunteer, Joan spent hours working with actress Marlo Thomas, launching the “She Made It” initiative at the Paley Center for Media, NYC, preserving over 2,000 hours of programming by, for, and about women.  In 2005, she, Gloria Steinem, Jane Fonda, and other influential women, conceived and launched the Women’s Media Center in NYC.  The center is still active today.

Joan’s listed in Who’s Who in NJ Business Leaders, she’s received Fast Company Magazine’s “Best New Company” award, listed in “Who’s Who in American Woman”, was one of the first women appointed to the Radio Advertising Bureau’s Board of Directors, named one of the “Top Six Radio Sales Managers in the U.S.”, and earned an Esquire magazine nomination for “outstanding achievement before the age of 40”.

She’s been a keynote speaker at media conferences across the U.S., as well as a contributing writer for industry magazines.  She was National President of Alliance for Women in Media, was awarded the radio industry’s “Broadcaster of the Year” award, named Radio Ink Magazine’s “#1 Most Influential Woman in Radio”, and by invitation, has testified to the FCC on Capitol Hill regarding “diversity in media.”

As a natural redhead—although her hair is now turning white—Joan firmly believes that redheads have the powers of Wonder Woman, the wisdom of Confucius, and the endurance of Serena Williams.  She may be right!