Joanna Lennon, founding director of East Bay Conservation Corps (now Civicorps), was a trailblazer and an inspiration to many in the Corps community. She was a true champion for protecting the environment and supporting communities and causes that are often overlooked. As her family said, “She was determined to make a positive difference in the world, call out injustices, and help others become better people.” She passed away at her home in Berkeley, CA, on July 1, 2024.
Joanna grew up in a working-class family in Beverly Hills. She earned her bachelor’s degree in 1970 from U.C. Berkeley, where she studied social and political philosophy. After graduating, she spent a few years working for NOLS in the Wind River Range of Wyoming, and the U.S. Forest Service in Truckee, CA, where she was a founding member of the Tahoe Nordic Search and Rescue Team.
After nine years in Truckee, Joanna returned to U.C. Berkeley to earn a master’s degree in forestry and resource management, which led her to a position in England and Wales to work on the World Conservation Strategy, a worldwide effort to encourage sustainable development.
In 1983, upon returning to California, Joanna was selected to start the East Bay Conservation Corps (EBCC), as a pilot demonstration program in youth development and community service. Originally operated under the auspices of the Metropolitan YMCA in Hayward, CA, the program soon became an independent nonprofit and relocated to West Oakland, where they are still based today. More than 40 years later, the Corps continues its mission to “re-engage young adults, aged 18-26, to earn their high school diplomas, gain job skills, pursue college, and embark on family sustaining careers.”
Under Joanna’s leadership, the EBCC helped pave the way for the creation and expansion of future urban Corps programs throughout the country. Among other early accomplishments in the 1980s, the EBCC helped write and pass state Assembly Bill 2020 – more commonly known as the Bottle Bill – which sought to encourage recycling and reduce littering in California. This led to the creation of recycling programs across the state, including the EBCC Recycling Team, which launched as a pilot program to recycle beverage containers at seven East Bay marinas and select sites operated by the East Bay Regional Park District. Civicorps remains a local recycling leader, providing services to 1,300 businesses and institutions across Oakland. In 2024 alone, Corpsmembers collected 379 tons of material and more than 9,200 abandoned tires. Corps in Los Angeles, San Jose, San Diego, Long Beach, Fresno, and other California cities also operate recycling programs, continuing a legacy started by the EBCC.
Joanna made a lasting impact on the Corps community outside of California, too. She frequently travelled to Washington, DC, to advocate for service programs with congressional offices. In 1985, she and a small group of fellow Corps directors established the National Association of Service and Conservation Corps (NASCC), which is now The Corps Network. Joanna was a founding board member.
In 1993, EBCC was the largest of 16 organizations across the country that participated in the Summer of Service – a national program launched under the Clinton Administration to engage 1,500 young people in community service. The Summer of Service was a pilot for AmeriCorps, which was established later that year with the passage of the National and Community Service Act of 1993.
As Joanna’s husband Gene Knauer noted, playing a role in the establishment of AmeriCorps – and running one of the first and largest AmeriCorps programs – was likely one of Joanna’s proudest accomplishments. Another major accomplishment came in 1995, when EBCC was granted a charter under the Oakland Unified School District, becoming one of the first 100 charter schools in California. To date, the Corps has helped hundreds of young adults earn their diplomas.
“Joanna was a true visionary, and it was her ability to inspire and lead that created the national service movement we have today,” said Ann Harrison, a founder of NASCC (The Corps Network) and retired Chief of the Bureau of Environmental Education for the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. “She was passionate about the cause and was determined to create a broad and lasting network of state, local, municipal, and non-profit Corps. For decades, these Corps have provided opportunities for young adults to serve their communities by completing much needed conservation and service work as Corpsmembers developed the skills to become productive citizens. Joanna’s dedication to family, leadership of the Corps community, and enduring friendships are her legacies that I will treasure forever.”
Joanna was a mentor and friend to many in the national service community and beyond.
“Joanna was a visionary through and through,” said Tessa Nicholas, Executive Director of Civicorps. “She was ground-breaking in her work catalyzing the local Conservation Corps movement in California. She was instrumental in getting Cal Recycle funding started for local Corps and she positioned EBCC/Civicorps to play an important role in the federal implementation of AmeriCorps. Everyone who worked with her agreed she was a force to be reckoned with. We honor Joanna’s tireless commitment to Corpsmembers and as the founder of a powerful movement that remains vital and robust 42 years later. She was a giant on whose shoulders we proudly stand.”
As stated by Margaret “Peg” Rosenberry, past director of NASCC and retired from the Corporation for National and Community Service:
“Joanna was a force of nature and one of the first Conservation Corps directors I met when I was working with the Human Environment Center to pass Conservation Corps legislation. In 1984, the Human Environment Center sponsored the first gathering of Conservation Service Corps programs at the 4H Center in Chevy Chase, MD, where the National Association of Service and Conservation Corps was formed. Joanna was elected its first president, and we continued to work closely over the years to advance the national service movement, finally seeing national service legislation pass during George H. W. Bush’s presidency and expanding into AmeriCorps under President Clinton. It was a long road, over 10 years, but Joanna was there, always helping to keep momentum moving and demonstrating what service could do for our country. She was not just a colleague, but also a very close and loyal friend. We shared our families, our work, and travel. She helped build the national service movement and will be remembered for her drive, her commitment, her dedication and her uplifting optimism. I was so lucky to call her a friend.”
Peg Rosenberry also shared a telling anecdote about Joanna:
“Sometime in 1984 or ‘85 I was recruiting Corps directors to come to Washington to meet with members of Congress about Conservation Corps programs and urge their support for legislation. Joanna was first on the list, and she was staying with us. She was to arrive one very sleety February evening, taking the Super Shuttle from Dulles airport because of the weather. As I saw the Super Shuttle pull up, I went outside with an umbrella and boots for her. Imagine my surprise when the driver’s door opened, and Joanna got out. As she stepped out, I heard her tell the driver, who was about to take over again, to steer into a skid if he got into one. As we walked into the house, all she said was, ‘I hope he’s going to be okay. He has two more passengers to drop off. He really doesn’t know how to drive in winter conditions.’ It was so like Joanna to evaluate the situation and take charge.”
When asked what today’s Corps leaders could learn from Joanna’s career and accomplishments, her husband stated, “Partner. With cities, local land management agencies, businesses, other nonprofits ― anyone who can help expand your program. She used fee-for-service contracts with land management agencies and didn’t rely on grants. She established a national profile while running a local program.”
When asked what advice she might offer to the young people currently serving in Corps, Gene said, “Buckle down. Come to work every day. Get your GED. Plan ahead so you have some control over your life. Stay focused and become a person you and other people can be proud of.”
The Corps Network proudly recognizes Joanna Lennon with our 2025 Legacy Achievement Award.
“It is fair to say that The Corps Network, and the broader national service movement, might look very different today without the leadership and vision of Joanna Lennon,” said Mary Ellen Sprenkel, President & CEO of The Corps Network. “Joanna saw potential in everyone and fought to give opportunities to young people who face barriers and closed doors. Her career demonstrated the power of Corps to not only do important work for the environment, but to change lives. Joanna will be remembered as a force for good.”
Read more:
PROFILE / Joanna Lennon / Earth mother / East Bay Conservation Corps founder sets sites on education – SFGATE, May 24, 2002
A Voice Crying for the Wilderness : Tireless, Innovative Chief of East Bay Conservation Corps – Los Angeles Times, November 21, 1985
