Joanne is an Associate Professor in Sport and Exercise Psychology in the School of Sport and Exercise Sciences as Swansea University. She is a Health and Care Professions Council Registered Psychologist, and a British Psychological Society (BPS) Associate Fellow and Chartered Psychologist. Jo is a past Chair of the BPS Standing Conference Committee, Division of Sport and Exercise Psychology, and Qualification in Sport and Exercise Psychology board.

She is a Fellow of the British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences (BASES), is a BASES Accredited Scientist (Research) and Chair of BASES Education and Teaching Special Interest Group.

Her research focuses on two main topics: psychosocial aspects of physical activity in older adulthood and reversal theory, a theory of motivation, emotion and personality. Her current funded research focusing on older adults includes partnerships with Bridgend County Council, Pobl Housing Group and Grenoble University. These projects are exploring the impact of existing community-based interventions for older adults, developing interventions to enhance older adults’ physical and mental well-being, and understanding the roles of transitions and age stereotypes on physical activity. She has co-authored and edited five texts, published over 50 peer reviewed articles and supervised 12 PhD students to completion.