Joanne Donoher is a role model for students who will need to finance their own college expenses. She worked full time as she completed her Associates Degree at Middlesex Community College earning a full scholarship to Wesleyan University. As an Etherington Scholar, Ms. Donoher majored in English and graduated Phi Beta Kappa. She completed her Masters of Arts in Liberal Studies with a focus in literature. Her graduate work was fully funded by Wesleyan.  She also earned a Sixth Year in Education from the University of Connecticut.

Ms. Donoher began teaching English at Coventry High School in 1988. She also teaches as an adjunct lecturer at Manchester Community College. She has been a supporter of the Coventry Scholarship Foundation Trust since its inception and created a scholarship fund for graduating students who wish to begin their pursuit of higher education at community colleges. In addition to being certified to teach English, Ms. Donoher holds endorsements in Business and Special Education from the State of Connecticut. She combined her interest in special education and equestrian sports when she became certified as a therapeutic riding instructor through the North American Riding for the Handicapped Association (NARHA). Ms. Donoher is a therapeutic riding instructor at Oakwood Acres Therapeutic Riding. in Columbia, Connecticut. Her husband, a motorcycle retailer in one of the oldest commercial enterprises in Columbia, Connecticut, also runs a tack shop and photographs many sports events and drama productions. Ms. Donoher procured funding from outside the district for dozens of therapeutic riding lessons for students of Coventry High School. She also helped to underwrite expenses for riding lessons for a heterogeneous group of students to ride together at High Hopes.

Ms. Donoher has taken extensive training in scoring the CAPT Response to Literature and Interdisciplinary Assessment. She is a BEST Mentor, the Master Mentor for the Coventry School District, and a portfolio scorer for English Language Arts.  She is also the advisor for the Coventry High School Drama Club and the stage director of the dramatic and musical productions.