of the land

Howdy, I’m Joanna.

My life work is to support the emergence of the new American West.

What I do is shaped by ecology, community, and creativity.

Ecology- relationship to land- informs everything about my personal and professional life. A lifelong Coloradoan, since 2012 I’ve lived in the southwestern CO Four Corners region. I moved here for climbing. But these days I rarely describe myself based on the sports I’m into. Rather than being a climber or biker or hunter, I’d rather be just an outside- er: out there, pursuing a deeper relationship with place, finding joy in land.

Community building is at the center of my professional life. I have spent my last decade working in public service and with regional nonprofits, focusing on community collaboration and support. Currently I am interested in amplifying the rural voice. My work has come to focus on how unique-and, often, underrepresented- rural communities can be, and I am building a body of work focused on rural kinship and the special voices that exist in smaller and more remote communities.

Creativity exists for me because of the other work that I do, not in contrast to it. My creative writing and performing springs from the above and also feeds into how I show up for people and planet. To learn more about how and what I write, please check out my blog and publications here.