Joanna completed her psychiatry residency at the Johns Hopkins Hospital in 2014 and is an outpatient psychiatrist at HRC Behavioral Health and Psychiatry, PA in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.  She works with people dealing with a variety of issues but has a special interest in treating anxiety and mood disorders.

Joanna is a 2003 Mitchell Scholar. She received a Master's Degree in Anglo Irish Literature and Drama from University College Dublin. Her thesis research examined the work of Irish poet Richard Murphy. Heavily influenced by Irish writers, she enjoyed the opportunity to be immersed in Ireland's rich literary tradition. An award winning poet herself, Joanna is passionate about storytelling, narrative and language. Her literary scholarship is of particular value in the psychiatric field given the significant amount of reading and history taking involved in exploring patient's stories.

Joanna has received the Drue Heinz Award for her collection of short stories, NOW YOU KNOW IT ALL, which will be published in October 2021. Her first collection of stories, EVERY HUMAN LOVE, was a finalist for the Shirley Jackson Awards, the Foreword Indies Awards, and the Janet Heidinger Prize for Fiction.

She has also published a collection of poetry entitled OLDEST MORTAL MYTH and a young adult novel entitled THE RITES AND WRONGS OF JANICE WILLS.

Joanna obtained her undergraduate degree from UNC Chapel Hill.