Joanna D'Avanzo is a Senior Professional Lecturer of Advertising at Marist University in Poughkeepsie, NY, where she teaches the creative side of advertising. She previously served as Chair of the Communication Department and is currently Coordinator of the Global Marketing Communication Program in Florence. At Marist, she has led the development of the advertising program, organized the annual Marist Portfolio Review in New York City, and mentored students to national recognition, including awards in The One Club for Creativity’s Young Ones Competition and top placements in the American Advertising Federation’s National Student Advertising Competition.

Before entering academia, Joanna spent more than 20 years in the advertising industry, working her way up from assistant art director to Creative Director at leading New York agencies including McCann, DMB&B, JWT, and Grey. She created campaigns for clients such as Burger King, Hasbro Games, Panasonic, Gatorade, and Smucker's. This extensive industry experience gives her a depth of knowledge to draw from, allowing her to provide students with practical, hands-on insight into the careers they are pursuing. She encourages her students to “know a little about a lot” - a philosophy she lives by herself, which fuels her curiosity and ensures she never stops learning.

A multiple-time juror for The One Club for Creativity’s Young Ones Awards, Joanna takes pride in seeing her students compete and win in both the Young Ones and the AAF's National Student Advertising Competition. She also created a global attachment program that united students from Marist's Florence and Poughkeepsie campuses, bringing them to the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. The program immersed students in the world’s premier advertising event while also encouraging them to explore the South of France, expanding their curiosity, cultural awareness, and creative perspective.

D'Avanzo holds a BFA in Advertising Design from the Fashion Institute of Technology and studied graphic design at the London College of Communication. She has taught in higher education since 2010, including at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, and is featured in Pat Peduto's I Wrote the Book on Advertising.

Outside of the classroom, D'Avanzo can be found exploring street art in cities around the world, listening to an ever-growing list of podcasts, experimenting with AI, searching for the perfect typeface, or learning from her three Gen Z sons, who help her stay culturally current and humble. True to her own advice to "know a little about a lot," she embraces every opportunity to keep learning and expanding her creative perspective.