Mirrors: Joané Booth, People & Culture Manager
The AdaMarie Mirrors reflect back to us the many roads (often winding, never smooth) to success! Real stories to see yourself reflected. At first, you’ll see Joané in this mirror, but eventually, we hope you’ll see yourself.
Welcome, Joané Booth!
Joané Booth never planned to work in HR. She planned to be the next Oprah.
But somewhere between a journalism dream and a detour into politics she never saw coming, she discovered something more powerful than a plan — a calling. And it came wrapped in exactly the kind of challenge, inconvenience, and unexpected opportunity that she now spends her days creating for others.
In this AdaMarie Mirror, Joané reflects on what it means to be truly invested in and how the people who refused to let her play small shaped the leader she became. Now People & Culture Manager at Women Donors Network, her story traces a path from the Minnesota State Capitol to the front lines of human-centered HR, powered by a deep belief that how you treat people is the work.
Raised in the Baptist church by a family of preachers and big-hearted people who showed up for strangers and neighbors alike, Joané brings a particular kind of conviction to everything she does. It shows up in her boundaries, in her leadership, and in the way she talks about rest as a requirement for showing up fully for the people who need her.
If you have ever taken a job out of necessity and found your purpose on the other side of it, Joané's story will feel like something you already knew but needed to hear out loud.
Major & Minor – If you went to college!: Public Relations
Field of Work: Human Resources
Expertise In: Political Advocacy, Policy and Human Resources
Current Company: Women Donors Network
Job Title: People & Culture Manager
One-liner about what you’re working on: Building and sustaining a powerhouse team who will save the world!
Currently geeking out over: How AI tools are reshaping HR and people ops, and what that means for building truly human-centered workplaces.
STEM Hero: Jasmine Muse
Tell us about your professional journey – how did you get where you are now?
I got here because people showed up for me before I knew how to show up for myself.
My journey started at the Minnesota State Capitol, and from very early on, I was fortunate to work for and alongside people who didn't just give me a title they gave me their time, their honest feedback, and their belief. We're talking about the kind of bosses who would pull you into their office and tell you the hard truth, not because they wanted to tear you down, but because they could see something in you that you hadn't quite claimed yet.
That tough love shaped me. It taught me that real investment in someone looks less like cheerleading and more like challenge, asking you to stretch further than you think you can, then standing there while you figure it out. I had incredible people who refused to let me play small. And I've spent my whole career trying to pay that forward.
We’re also curious to know your personal story and upbringing. What has made you “you”?
I come from two incredibly strong families. And when I say strong, I don't just mean resilient, I mean big-hearted. We love hard. We show up for each other. And from a very young age, the message was clear: you look out for others, and you do the right thing, even when it's inconvenient, even when nobody's watching.
A huge part of my foundation is church. I was raised in the Baptist church, and many of the men in my family were preachers. So I didn't just attend church, I grew up inside of community. I watched people pour into each other. I watched my family counsel strangers, feed neighbors, and speak truth with both conviction and compassion. Growing up in a church community taught me that people are worth fighting for, that your gifts are meant to serve something bigger than yourself, and that how you treat people is the work.
We know that real life isn’t a smooth and linear journey. What was your initiating moment that led you to your calling - can you tell us about that moment, what helped you moved forward, what you learned/discovered?
My original plan out of college was to be the next Oprah. I mean that literally! I had my whole future mapped out in journalism, and I made sure everyone knew it. I was passionate, I was determined, and I was absolutely certain I knew exactly where I was going. And then life humbled me.
Opportunities weren't coming the way I had hoped, and in that uncertain season, Senator Bobby Joe Champion did something that still moves me when I think about it, he took a chance on me. He offered me a role in a sector I had zero interest in and zero knowledge of. Politics? Policy? That was not my world. That was not my dream. But I said yes out of necessity at first and that yes changed everything.
What I discovered on the other side of that detour was a calling I never would have found if I'd gotten exactly what I asked for. Working in policy and community advocacy lit something in me that journalism never had. It connected me to people, to purpose, to a kind of impact that I didn't even have language for yet.
You’re a working person in a performance-driven industry. Where do you find balance?
Balance for me is intentional and it is protected. I leave work at work. And I mean that literally and mentally. When I close my laptop, I close the chapter. Because my family deserves my presence, not the distracted, still-answering-emails version of me and my friends deserve to actually have me mentally present in the room.
I have learned that I am not a better professional when I'm running on empty. The version of me that shows up for the team, that pours into culture-building, that holds space for other people, she requires rest. She requires joy. She requires a Real Housewives reunion and zero apologies about it.
I don't do well professionally if I'm not doing well personally. Full stop. That's not a disclaimer, that's a boundary. And learning to honor that has made me a better leader, a better colleague, and a much better human being.
Let your geek flag fly! If you were something in Outerspace, what would you be?
The heart. It keeps everything alive, it works hardest when things get hard, and nothing else in the body functions well without it.
A constellation. Individual stars that on their own are beautiful, but together, they tell a story and help people find their way.
Osmosis. The way growth and change happen not by force, but through genuine connection and proximity to the right environment, that's exactly how I try to lead.
We’d love to feature your work! How can we spread the word about what you’re doing?
Become a member at Women Donors Network and learn more about us!
Do you have a favorite motivational quote or song?:
Optimistic, Sounds of Blackness
Any final advice for early-career STEM professionals?
Seek out mentors and those who will invest in you as much as you invest in them!
