Joan Johannson has been working in Winnipeg’s inner city for over fifteen years. She and her husband are the authors of Empowerment: A Systems Approach to People and Groups and The Family Zoo. She was a founding member of the Canadian Association of the Non-Employed (CANE) and served as the group’s chairperson from 1993 to 2000. She has also served on the National Board of Directors of the National Anti:Poverty Organization, Ten Days for Global Justice, and the Urban Core Support Network. She continues to work on policy issues around poverty and unemployment with both professionals and people living in poverty.