Joanna competed as a professional triathlete from 1998-2010. She placed 4th in the Sydney Olympics and was the 2008 Ironman 70.3 World Champion. She excelled at all 3 distances in the sport of triathlon, winning races in the Olympic, Half Ironman, and Ironman distances. She is an Olympic trials qualifier in 3 sports – marathon, triathlon and swimming.
Professionally Joanna has been a coach and mentor to endurance athletes of all ages and abilities since 2003. In the past decade, Joanna has helped athletes reach their goals by concentrating on both the physical and mental aspects of training and competing. In 2013, Joanna expanded her coaching business and created Race Ready Coaching which aims to help athletes achieve their personal best in running, cycling and triathlon through innovative training plans, multi-media, and education.
Academically while pursuing her athletic dreams. She received a B.A. in Psychology from Brown University she went on to Northwestern University Chicago, IL to earn her M.S. in Genetic Counseling (1995). Motivated by the excitement of independent research, Joanna earned her Ph.D. in Genetic Epidemiology (2001)