Joy weaves in and out of many worlds, and is often found with her nose deeply buried in a pile of old books, a new website, an over-stuffed toolbox, or a garden bed. She is just as likely to be found singing to an audience of deer or petting bumblebees, as she is speaking to a group of people about the dependance of economics, politics, religion, and culture upon the co-operation of the individual.

Joy has been many things for her community, but currently, she is highly involved in a local permaculture group. She helps organize the group's workshops and other activities, as well as their first Permaculture Design Certification course, of which she is also a graduate. She has also completed "Teaching Permaculture Creatively" with Dave Jacke, which she highly recommneds for anyone interested in social permaculture.

Recently, Joy was called to become a student of the Orphan Wisdom School,"a teaching house and learning house for the skills of deep living and making human culture. It is rooted in knowing history, being claimed by ancestry, working for a time yet to come."

She has also been a founding member of a local K-8 charter school that focuses on a hands-on learning approach, mixed ability levels, lifelong learning practices for students, faculty and their parents, small class sizes, and the belief that each of us is born with a natural desire to learn that must be nurtured in a supportive environment. Joy worked with a core team of founders from 1997 -2005, also serving on the Board of Directors for six years.

In 1999, Joy said goodbye to the 20th century by graduating from Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia. Since then, she has worked in web and graphic design as a professional webmaster for an international distribution company. She is a one-woman web department, managing multiple websites and projects, and has been involved in several e-commerce migrations and start-ups. She also freelances, and has done design and consulting work for other websites.

In her artistic career, Joy has exhibited her work in several different shows locally and internationally, and has been published in a London-based stock photography catalog, the Philadelphia City Paper online, and numerous promotional calendars. While shows are fun, she prefers to present her work in more unconventional venues, so that there is ample opportunity for conversation and exchange of ideas.

The rest of Joy's personal life is filled with many interests including: regenerative design over sustainability (status quo!), wild foraging, learning primitive and ancient skills, shamanism, DIY projects, gardening, changing the economic paradigm as applied to the arts and music through cooperative ventures, and the politics of living with each other equally, sharing the abundance of an appreciated eco-system.