Joa Jeanmarie grew up in a farmworker family in Immokalee, Florida. During the COVID pandemic, Joa used the access and bilingual skills from their childhood to conduct extensive door-to-door healthcare outreach with the Florida Department of Health and community healthcare clinics. In their research, Joa has merged community organizing experience with academic interests in Haitian feminism, race and racism, and farmworker activism. Joa was president of the University of Florida chapter of the Student/Farmworker Alliance, which partners students with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers to advocate for food justice, farmworker rights and an end to exploitation in the fields. Joa enjoys reading, crochet, playing the ukulele, and skating!

email: joashilia@ciw-online.org