Born and raised on the island of Barbados, Joy graduated from the Ursuline Convent School and then attended Visalia's Mount Whitney High School as a foreign exchange student, graduating in 1973.On returning to the island, she worked with an Attorney-At-Law firm, first as an Office Assistant then as an Assistant Accountant for 22 years. During this time, she was involved with all of her daughter’s activities in school and loved being part of fundraising events, helping whenever needed.

In 1996, she immigrated to Visalia, where she worked as a property manager for 10 years and Office Administrator for 8 years. Joining the SVA team in May 2013, Joy takes a personal as well as professional interest in the success of SVA, with her daughter Lori Poggione working as an SVA Kindergarten teacher and with her grandson Michael attending SVA as a student. Joy believes in the school’s mission and the atmosphere provided here that allows students to thrive.