Joan practiced network engineering law in San Francisco until the dot-com bubble burst. In 2007, she joined the Foreign Service and worked as a career diplomat in Jerusalem, Montreal and Islamabad. But Joan was always drawn to the challenges of the Afghanistan-Pakistan region, where Taliban peace agreements and hostage negotiations kept her busy. Joan doesn’t like being told no. As a result, she has both a Golden Gloves boxing medal and a colorful photo book on the commercial sex industry in Japan. After graduating, Joan will return to public service as a diplomat posted to U.S. Embassy Tokyo.