Joanna is one of Canada's top leaders and contributors in the field of community- based research. As Co-Chair/Executive Director of Community Based Research Canada (CBRCanada) and adjunct associate professor at the University of Waterloo, she practises daily her unique research methodology and its value by promoting community-university engagements through research, teaching, coaching and collaborative initiatives. She is also one of the founding members of CBRCanada.

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For 25 years, Joanna served as the executive director of the Centre for Community Based Research (CCBR), a trailblazer in conducting community-based research outside academia (with over 400 research projects). Joanna was distinguished twice for her teaching when she received the Teaching Excellence Awards at both Wilfrid Laurier University in (2005) and at University of Waterloo in (2020). She helped establish the Community Research Ethics Office (CREO) and organized the C2UExpo  conferences, which are the largest gatherings globally showcasing community-university partnerships from around the world. Joanna has led a National Summit on pursuing excellence in collaborative community campus research (a springboard for the community-based research excellence tool CBRET) and co-instructed the first national certified course on community-based research fundamentals and excellence (2022). Her list of publications includes a book, 58 journal articles and over 80 research resources.

Driven by her passion and dedication, Joanna sees community-based research as a tool for equity and justice within societies.