Working in the military, veteran, and military spouse spaces for the betterment of a decade has given DejaJoi such insight through a DEI lense. Throughout that time, she made it a mission to build and maintain strategic business plans and create a more military inclusive culture. This includes historically underrepresented communities within the military space. Not only has she built DEI programming and curriculums from the ground up, she has helped with laying the foundation of DEI strategic planning for a multitude of entities.

 

Every career path and personal endeavor, DEI and advocacy has been front and center. Whether it was advocating for her maternal health in the UK, advocating for equitable hiring practices and management, speaking on the lack of understanding of marginalized spouses, speaking up when she was discriminated against, or noting the lack of understand of what DEI or intersectionality is; she has and will always be the one to ask the hard questions and answer them. 

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She's created programming, events, and staff changes from the ground up and collaborated with Rutgers Center for Minority Serving Institutions, HBCU Connect, NASA’s MSI program, and more. She boasts over five years of experience in DEI both in the US and UK. She's worked in advocacy for many minority communities ranging from racial, to mental health, LGBTQIA+, military, pregnant people, and disability equity. 

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Joi served as the DEI Lead at Student Veterans of America where she lead their MSI and DEI programming. She also has spoken on MainStage at their National Conference and hosted DEI breakout sessions. Joi has spoken at over thirty events. Joi served as an Army Resource Officer where she spearheaded a program of educational, career, and wellness resources for the Army Reserve of North Carolina.  She served as the point of contact for state resources for 11,000+ Army Reservists and their families. Joi has led the Suicide Prevention Program for the North Carolina National Guard as their Program Manager. She was the primary POC for briefings, investigations, liaising with commanding officers, and was charged with constructing a more efficient prevention program for the Guard. She was a member of the board for My Military and Veteran Resource Collation in North Carolina, worked side by side with law enforcement officials to support Veteran Crisis Intervention trainings, and volunteered with the National Alliance on Mental Illness—which included leading a Family-to-Family class and speaking at state conferences. Further, she served as the first military spouse career manager for Blue Star Families in the Baltimore area. Supporting military spouses and their careers initiated a stimulation of the local economy which is currently valued at more than one million dollars. Each of these programs she focused on the diversity of the military population, equity in hiring, and inclusive strategic planning with companies and military entities. 

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Joi created MilSect LLC through a wealth of experience and knowledge. She holds two Masters: one in Forensic Psychology and another in Military and Combat Psychology.  Raised a first generation American, while Joi has not served, her mission is to serve those who have and their families.

 

Joi is a proud military spouse with three sons and one daughter all who aid in her resilient and tenacious spirit. In her free time, she enjoys the beach, reading, cooking, watching her son play ice hockey, and spending time with friends and family.

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