Joyelle Ball, Ph.D.
Educator // Book Lover
About Me
The first thing most people learn about me is that I'm a book lover. My first stop when I moved to Portland was the library and I named my cat after John Steinbeck. I love losing myself in a story and the way I can feel completely carried away by it. I got my Ph.D. in Theater Studies because I am a lover of stories and of the way stories connect us to ourselves and to each other. That love is why I love to teach and what I want to share with my students. Anytime my students imagine themselves into a story they are practicing empathy and they are learning how to encounter difference with compassion. I've lived and taught in all different kinds of communities, from Southern California to Massachusetts, and I value the way my classrooms function as rehearsals for how to responsibly and compassionately engage with our communities. I am happy to have found a home in Portland, not just because of its soccer fandom, but because it's a community that reflects my commitment to inclusivity and social justice.