Biography

Joanna began her career as a theatre stage manager in 1993 working on the West End production of "The Phantom of the Opera", this was followed by the tour of "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolored Dreamcoat" and the German production of "Startlight Express" in Bochum, amongst others. She initially took a 3 month contract at the BBC working in floor management which then led to a career both as a BBC staff member and then a freelance floor manager working on programmes which included "Parkinson", "Robot Wars", "Art Attack" and "2000 Today BBC Millennium Show" a 36 hour continuous live broadcast. Joanna then moved into television drama as a 1st Assistant Director, her credits include "Holby City", "Casualty" and "EastEnders" for the BBC and "The Bill" for ITV, including working as Supervising 1st Assistant Director for the 2005 Live Episode which included a series of live stunts.

Joanna was appointed a lecturer on the Television Production and Broadcast Media courses at the University of Brighton in 2006, she then progressed to Senior Lecturer, Course Leader, Principal Lecturer and Academic Programme Leader. in 2015 she was appointed to the role of Director of Education for Brighton's Faculty and later College of Arts and Humanities and then into a university wide role as Director of Education for Student Success. in 2021 she was appointed to the strategic leadership role of Director of Education and Students. Joanna has also been appointed to a number of high profile roles in the Higher Education sector including the Office for StudentsTeaching Excellence Framework assessment panel for Creative Arts and Humanities, the Advance HE Race Equality Charter Governance Committee and also as an assessment panel chair for the Race Equality Charter and as a member of the Gaps in Student Experience working group for the Transforming Access and Student Outcomes (TASO) what works centre. Joanna is a Principal Fellow of Advance HE (PFHEA).
- IMDb mini biography by: Joanna MacDonnell

Grandmother Vicky MacDonnell née-Vicky Fuggle was PA to David Lean, Ronald Neame, Anna Neagle and Sam Goldwyn amongst others. Grandfather Pat MacDonnell (also known as John) worked on many films including Great Expectations, Oliver Twist, Henry V, Treasure Island, Black Narcissus and The Red Shoes, in varied capacities including assistant director and casting assistant.

Uncle John MacDonnell was a film Editor and Uncle Chris MacDonnell was an Actor.

(September 2008 - 2015) Brighton - Television Production and Broadcast Media Course Leader at the University of Brighton. (September 2015 - 2020) University of Brighton Director of Education, (2021-present) University of Brighton Director of Education and Students. 2017-2019 Office for Students Teaching Excellence Framework Assessor for the Creative Arts subject area.

Auntie to actress Emily Carey (House of the Dragon, Wonder Woman, Tomb Raider, Casualty, Houdini and Doyle).