Joanne graduated from Suffolk University Law School and her legal interests are in constitutional and criminal law, as well as civil and human rights issues.  Joanne has worked actively with two human rights NGOs in Massachusetts regarding anti-human trafficking; and, since May 2013, is a member of a working group to research, draft, and advocate for state-level legislation to ban the practice of Female Genital Mutilation and Cutting (FGM/FGC) in Massachusetts.