Joanna Waddell is an attorney with the Immigrant Justice Program at the Community Legal Center. She received her law degree from the University of Memphis. Before joining the CLC, she served as judicial law clerk to the Honorable Robert Benham, Judge of the Shelby County Probate Court, Division I. She also spent several years in private practice, focusing primarily in Estate Planning.
Joanna speaks Spanish and loves to travel and learn about other cultures and languages. Her undergraduate degree is in Spanish, and she also holds a Master of Arts in Romance Languages. Before law school, she taught Spanish in the United States and English as a Second Language in Ecuador. She also spent time volunteering in Ecuador, Belize, and Spain. Immigration law is the perfect mix of languages and cultures, law, and helping others.
Joanna has lived in the Memphis area since childhood and considers it home. She enjoys spending her free time with her husband, children, and their many pets.