Since 2019, Joann Boody Frankel has excelled as the president of the board of directors for the Lakewood Center for the Arts in Lake Oswego, Oregon. Previously volunteering for the arts center for over 15 years, she also served as its treasurer, board director and a member of its executive board. Notably, the Lakewood Center for the Arts is a local theater that aims to inspire and cultivate its members’ love for the theatrical arts and hosts monthly shows, auditions and classes. Outside of this endeavor, Ms. Frankel is a former member and past president of Lakewood Center Associates, the auxiliary arm of the arts center.
Earlier in her career, Ms. Frankel served for 20 years in the field of social work, having worked as a child welfare worker, a psychiatric case worker and a juvenile court counselor supervisor for the state of Oregon. Likewise, she gained experience at the Court of Domestic Relations in Multnomah County, Oregon, as a marriage and family counselor, as well as at the Bureau of Labor and Industries in Oregon in numerous noteworthy positions and at the Sampoerna Executive Research Company as an employee. Demonstrating versatility in her profession, Ms. Frankel also managed a retail and wholesale furniture business in Indonesia between 1991 and 2000.
Furthermore, Ms. Frankel is a member of Daughters of the American Revolution and a past member of the Academy of Certified Social Workers and the National Association of Social Workers. She is a past president of the American Women’s Association of Singapore and the American Women’s Association of Jakarta and a past member of the Overseas Wives Association of Surabaya. Additionally, she currently serves as a board member and recording secretary of P.E.O. Likewise, Ms. Frankel dedicated much of her time to the written word, having contributed to the Singapore American Newspaper and the American Women’s Association Bamboo Telegraph from 1986 to 1989. In this regard, she also contributed her expertise to the book “How to Live with Other People’s Children,” which was authored by June and William Noble in 2002.
Drawing upon a Bachelor of Science in sociology, with a minor in psychology, from the University of Oregon, Ms. Frankel also holds a Master of Science in social work from Portland State University. In light of her exceptional achievements, she was honored with the Kaye Vega Arts Champion Award from the Lakewood Center for the Arts in 2023. She previously received the Fortuna Award as an Outstanding Business Partner for the Arts from the Arts Council of Lake Oswego in 2020 and the Betty Kingsbury Heritage Award for Exemplary Service to the Theater in 2017.