Joanne Spence is a social worker, yoga teacher, and an international speaker/trainer for health and wellness.  She works primarily in schools and hospitals and is known for her ability and passion to empower, encourage and motivate teachers.  Self-care and self-awareness are the hallmarks of her trainings.  Joanne brings 20+ years of social work experience to her work.  She is the director of a private yoga studio, Urban Oasis Pittsburgh, in Pittsburgh’s East End and the founder and Executive Director of Yoga in Schools, a non-profit organization that currently reaches over 20,000 children with innovative children’s yoga programming as part of Physical Education to schools both locally and nationally.  She worked part-time at Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic for nearly ten years teaching yoga.   Joanne is featured in the DVD, “Absolute Beginner Yoga”.  Currently, she works with veterans in the VA behavioral health system.  She is also writing a book about trauma-informed yoga.

Joanne is the mother of three lively young adults and wife of 30 years to Doug.  When she is not teaching yoga, she enjoys entertaining, reading, traveling, cooking, dancing and hiking, not necessarily in that order!