Joanna's biography

sometimes i shave my legs and sometimes i don't
sometimes i comb my hair and somtimes i won't
depend on how the wind blows i might even paint my toes
it really just depends on whatever feels good in my soul...

India.Arie 'Video'

I come from farmers and firemen. My dad, James McCarcum Lee, grew up on a farm in rural Tennessee with his parents and his brother Willie. He used to ride a mule to school. My mom, Joan Louise Baldassano Lee, grew up in Staten Island, NY with her parents, five siblings, and her Sicilian grandparents. Her dad was a fireman. Their 'Guess who's coming to dinner' tale began when they got locked in a hospital bathroom together with an old man 36 years ago, and along the way they've had four children: Suzanne, Joanna, Jimmy and Lizzie. My tale began on St. Patrick's day in 1975.

I grew up in Northern NJ, went to college in RI and spent three years teaching and doing non-profit work in Pittsburgh before moving to Philly in 2000. Though I still don't know exactly what I want to be when I grow up, I'm pretty sure that it will have something to do with young people. I'm hoping that my PhD in developmental psychology, which may or may not be completed by 2008, will help in that regard.

In 2002 I was working at Community College of Philadelphia overseeing programs for high school students when my boss told me about this new center being opened for older youth in foster care. I've seen the AIC grow from serving 5-6 youth per week to serving hundreds, and I've met too many wonderful young people along the way to count. Though I officially left my position as the CCP/Technology project coordinator at the AIC in November 2005, I always knew that I would stay involved. I was super excited when Evelyn Busby, the AIC director, contacted me about the summer project with ICA and BPA, and now that the project is in full swing I'm even more excited.

My roles in life are many- I'm a sister, a daughter, an 'auntie jo jo', a girlfriend, a professor, and a friend. But being 'Ms. Joanna' has always been one of my favorites.