Joni fell in love with social impact work in 1995 at
her first job, where she worked almost 4 years at a camp deep in the Piney Woods of East
Texas. She has worked in the social impact world for nearly 25 years, focusing on social and
environmental justice causes. She is the co-founder of Amplify, a non-profit organization
that exists to amplify underrepresented voices in technology, and the founder of 9Forty
Coaching, where she works with social impact organizations to design processes and build
technology systems that help them achieve their mission. At 9Forty, Joni also works with
organizations to design more LGBTQIA-inclusive processes, programs, outreaches, and
workspaces.
As a white-passing person with Cherokee ancestry, Joni recognizes her inherent privilege
and contribution to a society that promotes racism, xenophobia, bigotry, and white
supremacy. She actively works to recognize and dismantle these institutions through her
work with organizations who are pursuing the same end, as well as through amplifying
marginalized voices around her.
As a queer person and LGBTQIA activist in America, Joni is well-acquainted with the
challenges experienced by our LGBQ and Trans communities, particularly in the southern
United States, and actively works to dismantle homophobia and transphobia through
storytelling and education. She believes that connection happens in sharing our stories,
and sees her own story as a love story in progress. She is presently working on a new project
called "Wild Lore", which aims to help individuals who have experienced societally inflicted
trauma to reframe and reclaim their narrative and rewrite their future. She is also a masters
student at Saybrook University, where she is studying mind-body medicine and integrated
health and wellness.
She lives in Denton Texas with her rainbow family consisting of a husband, 3 teenagers,
two dogs, and a cat. She is passionate about writing and telling stories, and riding her
motorcycle and making new stories to tell.
