Joanna de Peña, M.Ed.

Joanna is a role model and an inspiration for young people and professionals. As a high school student, Joanna’s academic and athletic abilities earned her a full scholarship to Proctor Academy in Andover, NH where she excelled as a scholar-athlete. She played softball, was on the cross country team, and was captain of the varsity basketball team that won Proctor Academy its very first championship. Her top grades & dedication to her community earned her a scholarship to Lasell College in Newton, MA, where Joanna earned a degree in Business.

As a college student, Joanna landed what she calls “the internship of a lifetime” at Walt Disney World. Even before graduating, Joanna was motivated to pay it forward. Her junior year at Lasell, she founded Top Notch Network, which offered leadership development events and trainings for young professionals in the New England area.
Joanna founded Top Notch Scholars in 2015, a non-profit dedicated to leadership development, providing workshops and motivational speaking engagements for students and young professionals in the Greater Lawrence and Boston area.

The workshops focus on Leadership topics such as confidence-building, interviewing techniques, Networking training, soft skills and career advancement. In just 3 short years with her organization she has reached over 16,000 students & young professionals. She has been recognized by El Mundo in its “Boston’s Latino 30 under 30” for her dedication to leadership development and community engagement and has also been awarded the Tribute to Women award for professional and community achievements.

In 2016, Joanna has been recognized as a Gateway City Leader by MassInc for her Leadership and dedication to personal development services. She is heavily involved in her community by volunteering with local nonprofits, food pantries and engages in city clean ups. Joanna has earned her Master’s Degree at Merrimack College in Education May 2017 and is currently pursuing her Ph.D in Performance Psychology.

• Keynote: “The Value of Being the Best Version of You”
• Self Love & Self Confidence
• Entrepreneurship
• Public Speaking
• Finding your passion
• Networking & Building Relationships
• College Readiness: How to position yourself as an ideal applicant
• College Readiness: In and Outs of FAFSA, Navigate college choices and how to thrive once accepted
• Acing your job interview: Resume Building and Interactive Interview session
• Your circle of influence: A make it or break it lifestyle, chose friends wisely
• Social media: A fantasy vs. reality breakdown

• Stress management
• Leadership
• Networking (Winning relationships that lead to clients)
• (Will deliver trainings provided by companies)

• Keynote: “The Value of Being the Best Version of You”
• Self Love & Self Confidence
• Entrepreneurship
• Public Speaking
• Finding your passion
• Networking & Building Relationships
• Acing your job interview: Resume Building and Interactive Interview session
• Your circle of influence: A make it or break it lifestyle, chose friends wisely
• Social media: A fantasy vs. reality breakdown