Spotlight On...Joan D. Saunders

Today we stopped traffic with our publicity photo shoot. When the storm passed, we took over the bus-stop at Mission and 11th. Check back later to see our "best of" photos. Speaking of stopping traffic, today's Spotlight features Joan D. Saunders, a.k.a. Lois, the librarian (can't you tell?), and the "finder" in our story. Joan D. loves high heels. (Those are the shoes we didn't choose for this shoot in the background--photos by Borys, of course). "I like them to be at least three inches," Joan told me. She has a lot of spark, beautiful Spanish, and can sing a mean B. Here is her biography: Joan D. Saunders attended North Dakota State University, majoring in both Spanish and English, then attended graduate school at Southern Illinois University and Florida Atlantic University, where she studied linguistics, specializing in phonetics. She was an avid participant in music and drama as a teenager and young adult, then shifted into work related to her education. Three years ago, after a long career as an editor, Joan went back to her first loves, acting and music. She continues her acting and musical theater training, primarily at American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco. She also studies singing on an ongoing basis in private training with singing teacher Ava Victoria (NATS). In October 2006, Joan participated in a 20 hour acting and improv workshop taught by Alan Arkin. Only 20 participants were allowed in the workshop. Joan says, “It was one of the most amazing and valuable experiences of my life.” Over the last 12 months, Joan has completed five independent films, with a principal role in three of them.