Joanie Connell was born in NY and her family moved to Cambridge, MA when she was young. Having walked through Harvard Yard most days on her way to school, Joanie chose to study there for her Bachelor's Degree. After graduating in Engineering Sciences, she made her way to Silicon Valley and worked in a number of tech companies. After experiencing group dynamics in corporate settings, she chose to pursue a doctorate at UC Berkeley in Psychology. After working as a 'Senior Human Centered Engineer' at Cisco for a few years, she now holds some academic posts and consults to tech leaders interested in developing more soft skills to transition into successful management roles. She is also a published author, maintains a blog and hosts a podcast show called "Reinventing Nerds".