Memberships
- American Bar Association
- Bar Association of the District of Columbia
- Maryland Bar Association
- Women's Bar Association
Professional Activities
Joan served for 10 years as General Counsel and Secretary, North American Marine Environmental Protection Association (“NAMEPA”), a nonprofit that promotes sustainable practices for the shipping industry.
Joan is a former member of Women in Government Relations (“WGR") and served on the Homeland Security and Environment and Energy Task Forces. In September 2014, she was appointed to serve as WGR’s Homeland Security and Defense co-chair. In October 2010, Joan was appointed by Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell to his new Virginia Offshore Wind Development Authority ("VOWDA"). She was reappointed to a new four-year term at VOWDA in December 2013 and again in March 2014. In July 2014, Joan received a certificate of appreciation from the American Bar Association's International Legal Resource Center and the United Nations Development Program for advice she gave to the Republic of Fiji on new mining laws.
In December 2013, Joan was appointed to the Pool of Experts of the Regular Process for Global Reporting and Assessment of the State of the Marine Environment, including Socioeconomic Aspects (commonly referred to as the “Regular Process”). Members of the Pool of Experts are appointed through the United Nations. The task of the first cycle of the Regular Process was to produce the first integrated marine assessment of the world’s oceans and seas by 2014, commonly referred to as the “World Ocean Assessment.” In May 2018, Joan was appointed by the U.S. Department of State as an expert on coastal zone management and planning for the United Nation’s second World Ocean Assessment. Joan served as chair of the Virginia Offshore Wind Development Authority from 2016 to 2022.
In August 2025, Joan was reappointed as Vice Chair at Large of the Marine Resources Committee of the American Bar Association (“ABA”) Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources for the 2025–2026 term. She has previously served as vice chair of policy and vice chair of committee articles of the committee. Joan has been a member of ABA Senior Lawyers Division’s Experience Magazine Editorial Board since 2021 and in August 2025, she was appointed to the Council of the Senior Lawyers Division.
In January 2021, Joan received a formal letter of appreciation from the United Nations, Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea Office of Legal Affairs, for her writing contributions to the Second World Ocean Assessment (“WOA II”), which was adopted during the General Assembly’s 75th Session on December 31, 2020, as part of the Regular Process for Global Reporting and Assessment of the State of the Marine Environment, including Socioeconomic Aspects, which covered the period 2016–2020. The WOA II assesses the state of the marine environment, including socioeconomic aspects, and focuses on how to improve the science-policy interface to ensure the conservation and sustainable use of the ocean and marine resources.
In December 2021, Joan received a letter from Governor Ralph S. Northam on behalf of the Commonwealth of Virginia, expressing his admiration and sincere appreciation for her selfless service, achievements, and contributions to the development of Virginia's offshore wind energy resource.
In 2021, Joan was selected to be an international mentor for Women in Wind and, in January 2023, she was awarded a Certificate of Recognition for her dedicated service as a Mentor during the 2022 edition of the Women in Wind Global Leadership Program.
Joan served as an adjunct professor at Georgetown Law School for the spring 2022 semester teaching renewable energy (January–May 2022) and at American University Washington College of Law in 2024 on the new biodiversity convention.
