“Adventurous strategist, cross-cultural explorer, and human and animal welfare champion.”
“Adventurous strategist, cross-cultural explorer, and human and animal welfare champion.”
Joanne Lee is Collaborative Learning Director at Healthy Places by Design, and part of the organization’s leadership team. As Collaborative Learning Director, Joanne oversees a culture of collaborative networking and learning that enables the organization to build internal and external capacity and incorporate new knowledge and approaches into products, services, and strategic direction. Joanne also provides strategic coaching and technical assistance to community-based partnerships across all phases of planning, implementation, and sustainability. She engages directly with funders and leaders in the field to build capacity and develop healthy community strategies that have sustainable impact. Joanne frequently participates in program development and field-building processes and serves in various advisory roles. She represents Healthy Places by Design on issues related to nutrition, public health, community-based policy and environmental strategies, children’s and women’s health, and diverse populations. She has a special interest in community engagement, equity, collaborative learning and networking, capacity building, and sustainability. Joanne joined our team in 2005, and has been involved in several of Healthy Places by Design’s major initiatives, including Roadmaps to Health Action Awards; Healthy Neighborhoods Fund; Healthy Kids, Healthy Communities; and Fit Community and Fit Together.
Joanne has lived in North Carolina, Hawai’i, and Arizona and has worked in other diverse settings across the country. She previously served as Program Director for the Nutrition Division of the Pitt County Health Department in eastern North Carolina. She was also Lead Research Dietitian for the Nutrition Support Shared Resource Unit of the Cancer Research Center of Hawai`i. She has served in lead roles on national and international research studies, including NIH-funded investigations. A Registered Dietitian and Licensed Dietitian/Nutritionist, Joanne completed her MPH and BS degrees at the University of Hawai’i, and holds a Certificate of Advanced Clinical Education in Child and Adolescent Obesity from the University of California, San Francisco. Joanne grew up in Hawai’i and currently resides in rural eastern North Carolina. She supports local parks and walkability initiatives, and is a regular patron of her local farmers’ market and community garden.
Joanne has a special love of dogs, owning dogs rescued from shelters and volunteering with animal welfare groups. She has volunteered at local senior facilities with her certified therapy dogs and as a trainer for the New Leash on Life program at a local correctional institution.
When I moved from Hawai’i to North Carolina in 2001, I left a community in which I was in the majority racial group to one where Asians make up less than one percent of the population. In many ways, it was the first time I had experienced what it felt like to be a minority in this country. Experiencing stereotyping and racism firsthand not only opened my eyes about the perceptions of others, but also prompted me to examine and change my own biases and perceptions. I also became more curious about how we all experience our own race and ethnicity in relation to others.
Stark environmental differences also challenged me when I moved. Normal childhood days in Hawai’i involved eating fresh mangoes, bananas, and papayas picked from backyard trees, walking to school, and playing at the beach with friends. Once I began living in a new community with fewer readily accessible amenities, I had to seek different ways to incorporate healthy eating and active living into my routine.
By deepening engagement in my new community, over time I have discovered the ingenuity and resourcefulness of people who have created healthy supports and their steadfast commitment to incremental changes over time. I watched a strip of sidewalk eventually connect to community destinations. A farmer’s road stand has grown into a neighborhood farmers’ market. Unused county-owned property has been transformed into a gathering place and resource, and was recognized as one of the country’s Great Public Spaces by the American Planning Association. Whether in my own community or as part of the Healthy Places by Design team, I am inspired every day by community members and the changes they are leading across the country.