Joanne MacDonnell was appointed to a five-year term as the Arizona Ombudsman-Citizens’ Aide starting on July 1, 2022, following confirmation by the 55th Legislature and Governor Ducey. She joined the office as Deputy Ombudsman in 2005 after serving nearly eight years at the Arizona Corporation Commission as the Director of Corporations. Before working in government, Joanne worked in the private sector at an agribusiness corporation and in real estate as a licensed Realtor associate and a real estate appraiser. Joanne has Bachelor of Science degrees in Business Administration and Real Estate from the University of Arizona, Eller College of Management.  She is an investigator certified by the Council on Licensure, Enforcement & Regulation (CLEAR) and completed mediation training through South Mountain Community College. She has additional training, including the ADOA Executive Course, ADOA Project & Investment Justification Training, REID Investigator Training, the Leadership Module through Rio Salado College and Arizona Government University, and ombudsman training prescribed by the U.S. Ombudsman Association (USOA). She is active in the U.S. Ombudsman Association, having served multiple years as a Board Director, Officer, and Conference Committee and Outreach Committee Member. She was Chair of the USOA Children and Family Chapter for four years. She was an Association for Conflict Resolution member and qualified in the “Practitioner” category. She was a member of the DCS Citizen Review Panel Committee for seven years. She was a member of the Supreme Court’s Special Committee on Parent Representation and Guardian Ad Litem Standards. She has worked as a member of the Arizona Juvenile Court Improvement Committee since 2011. She has been a judge for the Central Arizona Better Business Bureau (BBB) Business Ethics Award for the past fifteen years.