Since 2002, JoAnn has been mom to her two children, Guy and Charlotte. She has a B.S. in Mass Communications and is a trained pastry chef.
JoAnn, along with husband Joel, co-founded the Charlotte Helen Bacon Foundation to honor the way their little girl lived so boldly. She and Joel also published the children’s books Good Dogs, Great Listeners and The Dogs of Newtown, written by their son and Charlotte’s older brother. JoAnn is committed to de-stigmatizing grief and bereavement, particularly child loss. Her writing has been featured in many national publications including TIME, Modern Loss, and The Mighty. Since 2013, she has served as a commissioner on the Sandy Hook Permanent Memorial Commission in Newtown, CT.
In her spare time, JoAnn enjoys gardening, cooking, and travel but her biggest joy is her children.