Joan  is  very  committed to the health care  needs of  Northeastern Ontario, having been raised and  educated in  the Northeast. She holds a Bachelor of Science ( BScN )  in Nursing from Laurentian University and a Master of Education from Nipissing University.   Originally  from Sudbury, she arrived in Timmins in 1996, where she and her husband Ed raised their two sons.   She has been an advocate for access to nursing education across the northeast, having taught nursing at  Laurentian University in their distance education program and locally at Northern College.  Joan continues to be active in nursing education as a part-time professor in the BScN program at Northern College.  In addition to her role as a nursing professor,  Joan has held  health care leadership roles and occupational health roles  in the community setting.   She joined Timmins and District Hospital in 2007 as Director of Clinical Services, and assumed  the Chief Nursing Officer role in 2011.