Bio

Joy M. Newcom has been a professional communicator for more than three decades. She is also a caregiver and creative non-fiction writer.

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Joy has taught public relations courses at Waldorf College (now Waldorf University) and was director of brand discovery and launch for the institution during a time of dramatic transition. Prior to her association with Waldorf, she was manager of communications for the League of Iowa Municipalities (now Iowa League of Cities) in Des Moines and the editor of employee publications and public relations coordinator for Color Tile, Inc., in Fort Worth. Her time as a proofreader and editor for Type Case, Inc., prior to the advent of personal computers, honed her skills.

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Joy has won various state, regional and national awards for both her print and video work from the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) and other communications organizations. She is a past president of IABC’s Iowa chapter and earned national recognition for her communication skills from the American Society of Association Executives.

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Joy is a past chair of The Lutheran Advisory Committee, a national advisory group for the magazine of the ELCA. She currently serves on the board of Iowa Guardianship and the BrickStreet Theatre Board of Directors. She is a past board member of the Spina Bifida Association of Iowa and past advisor for two regional organizations that administer waiver services to persons with disabilities. She speaks to groups–educational and medical–as an advocate for parents of children with disabilities. In 2022, Joy was named an Iowa Mother of Merit by American Mothers, Inc.

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Joy received a bachelor of arts in journalism from Wartburg College and a master of arts in teaching from Morningside College (now Morningside University).