Joanne Smith is a Certified Nutrition Practitioner who graduated with first class honours from the Institute of Holistic Nutrition in Toronto, holds a degree in psychology from York University, as well as a diploma in radio & television broadcasting from Seneca College.

Joanne’s nutrition services focus on individuals who have sustained traumatic injury with specialization in neurological conditions such as spinal cord and brain injuries, as well as multiple sclerosis and cerebral palsy. She also teaches nutrition classes to individuals who are deaf/blind at The Canadian Helen Keller Centre.

In 2013 Joanne co-authored Eat Well Live Well with Spinal Cord Injury & Other Neurological Conditions, the first nutrition book dedicated to addressing the unique needs of people with SCI. She is also a regular nutrition columnist for New Mobility and Community magazines in Canada and the USA.

Joanne has been the co-lead in American and Canadian university-based nutrition studies. One study with Brock University entitled Neural and Behavioural Consequences of Chronic Inflammation Following Spinal Cord injury was the first study of its kind to use an anti-inflammatory diet using both foods and nutritional supplements to decrease neuropathic pain and depression. The overwhelming positive results of this study were published in the Journal of Neuroinflammation.

Joanne has been the keynote speaker and presented on the topic of nutrition at universities, conferences, hospitals and rehabilitation centres across North America, such as the Mayo Clinic Neuro-Rehabilitation Summit, Harvard Medical School, Canadian National Spinal Cord Injury Conference, the American Spinal Cord Injury Association of Health Professionals and The International Life Care Planning Symposium.

In addition to her nutritional practice, Joanne has hosted, produced and stared in three national television programs focused on telling in-depth stories about Canadians with disabilities, including the Gemini award winning CBC show Moving On.

Joanne's commitment to addressing the needs of people with disabilities is further demonstrated through her years as a dedicated mentor and volunteer for SCI Ontario, Lyndhurst Rehabilitation Center, Easter Seals and The Canadian Foundation for Physically Disabled Persons.

Her dedication to raising awareness and assisting Canadians with disabilities led to her receipt of the King Clancy Award in 2006, induction into the Terry Fox Hall of Fame in 2007 being honoured with the Gabriel Award in 2008 and bestowed with the SCI Ontario Community Builder Award in 2023.