MEET JOAN BARONE COLE
New Ideas & Trusted Leadership
Practical Leadership, Rooted in Family, & Focused on Results
Joan Barone Cole is a first-generation American⎯the daughter and granddaughter of Italian immigrants⎯ whose upbringing instilled a deep appreciation for family, hard work, faith, and community. Growing up in a close-knit Italian American family taught her the importance of looking out for one another, respecting older generations, sharing responsibility, and never walking away from someone who needs help.
Joan’s father was a veteran and postal worker who taught her the value of service, integrity, and a strong middle-class work ethic. These values continue to guide her approach to public service today. She believes that the government should reflect those same principles by working responsibly, spending taxpayer dollars wisely, and delivering real results for the people it serves.
Joan and her husband of 37 years have planted their roots in Anne Arundel County, and their two adult children and son-in-law live nearby in Howard County. Their family has built their lives here and look forward to watching future generations thrive.
Joan's Career Taught Her That Fixing a Problem Starts With Active Listening
Joan is the first in her family to graduate from college. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Management Science from SUNY Geneseo before later earning her MBA from the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater while raising her children full-time.
Her professional career spans both large corporations and small businesses, where she specialized in customer service, technical support, operations, and business research. Throughout her career, Joan efficiently solved complex problems, analyzed data, managed competing priorities, and built a consensus among people with different perspectives.
One lesson about leadership she’ll never forget -
While working at Eastman Kodak, Joan saw what happens when leaders stop listening. Despite a decade of research showing that photography was moving toward digital technology, company leaders refused to listen to the research and adapt. The cost was enormous—for workers, families, and Joan’s entire community. Whether running a company or serving in public office, Joan understands leaders must listen above all else.
Why Joan Is Running
When leaders ignore real problems, people pay the price.
Most everyone in District 31 and beyond has been impacted by the rising cost of housing, healthcare, and necessities like groceries. A growing number of our streets and neighborhoods don’t feel safe. It has become nearly impossible for our schools to guarantee every child a great education. And the threat of deportation is a constant reality for our community’s immigrants. Families are wondering whether their children will have the same chance to build a stable life that past generations hoped for. That’s why Joan is running.
For Joan, these issues are not abstract. While her parents bought a home and paid it off while she was still a child, her daughter and son-in-law had to compete against developers, investors, and buyers with large down payments when they bought their first home. Her mother is living on a fixed income while prices keep rising. Her brother’s cancer treatment has shown her the crushing cost of medical care. Her own grandmother, who came to this country legally on a green card, was categorized as an “alien” on two different census reports. If the current crackdown on immigration was happening then, her mother and four aunts would have lost their mother to forced deportation because the Italians and Irish were targeted at that time.
Joan’s path to public service grew from the belief that our elected officials have a duty to listen to their constituents and to keep them safe. After the Sandy Hook and Parkland school shootings, Joan was horrified that Congress failed to pass any meaningful legislation and was equally appalled when an acquaintance insisted that “the only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is with a good guy with a gun.” He described how he wants guns everywhere; including in schools, churches, concert venues, and shopping malls. That is when Joan decided that she should become involved in gun-violence prevention advocacy. Through Moms Demand Action, she helped build a local Anne Arundel County team that brought together people of different ages, backgrounds, and views — including gun owners and non-gun owners — because she believes hard problems are solved by finding common ground, not writing people off.
Joan's Extensive Advocacy Work Taught Her That Real Representation Matters
Residents should be able to contact their elected officials, raise concerns, ask for help, and be treated with respect. Joan believes District 31 deserves that kind of open-door leadership.
She is not running to be a career politician. She wants to listen, build relationships, and bring people together to solve problems. As a delegate, Joan will always show up, listen whether someone agrees with her or not, tell the truth, and work for practical results.
Joan will focus on the real issues that affect people’s daily lives by lowering costs, creating safer roads and neighborhoods, building strong public schools, supporting responsible growth, advocating for affordable health care, and upholding a state government that spends taxpayer dollars wisely.
Make Positive Change
I Am Here To Listen
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