I re-entered the workforce selling copy machines because no one would hire the woman with the resume gap.
Hi, I’m Joanna
After a decade as a stay-at-home mom, I became a divorcée and had to go back to work. I’d earned some solid, traditional work experience before I’d stepped away. I thought someone would see my potential.
They didn’t.
The interviews went nowhere. The polite dismissals that all said the same thing without saying it: You’ve been out for too long. You’re a risk.
So I took the one, very unsexy job I did get. I sold copy machines. Cold calls. Shame-laced Mondays where we reported our sales (or zeros) in front of everyone. It was a grind.
I re-started from scratch. And I learned something that continues to surprise me: in a world of complex career strategies and corporate politics, the simplest principles—keeping your word and treating people with genuine kindness—became my unexpected superpower.
Where I Am Today
Today, I lead digital transformation at a 24,000-person organization. I run statewide initiatives, manage cross-functional teams, and bridge the gap between executive leadership and the people doing the work on the ground.
The path from selling copy machines to pioneering organizational transformation wasn’t linear or pretty. Every soul-crushing job, every dismissive manager, every closed door—they weren't detours. They were the education I couldn't have planned, layering experiences that shaped the leader I am today.
What I Believe
I know the Sunday Scaries intimately. That creeping dread as the weekend slips away. The pit in your stomach when you think about Monday. The quiet question: Is this really it?
I wrote Making Sundays Less Scary because I believe you’re never as stuck as you think you are. You don’t need to quit your job tomorrow and burn everything you’ve built down. You need micro-moves—small, deliberate actions that shift your trajectory without risking everything.
That’s what I teach. That’s what I write about every Sunday. And that’s what I want for you: work that energizes instead of drains. Mondays you can actually look forward to.
Let’s Connect
I’m a mom of two. I’ve navigated the impossible math of career ambition and school pickup times. I’ve wasted way too much energy and mind space in the impatient for better loop and I’ve celebrated quietly when things finally clicked.
I believe your next chapter is never defined by your last one—it’s created by the small, courageous moves you make today.
The Sunday Reset — Every Sunday, I send a short note to help you start the week with clarity instead of dread. Real talk from someone who’s been there. [Subscribe]
Book — Making Sundays Less Scary is for anyone who knows the Sunday Scaries. For anyone who’s ever spent precious weekend time sucked into a vortex of Monday anxiety. [Get it on Amazon]
“The work you tolerate today shapes the career you have tomorrow. Demand better and start making the small moves that change everything.”
— Joanna Fonk