Joelle Watanabe is a junior at Boston University, majoring in Health Science with minors in Biology and Psychology on the Pre-Medical Track. Joelle is an advocate for various public health issues, such as menstrual inequity in education and period product access and addressing social/environmental factors in education outcomes. 

Joelle is an Enlight Fellow with Innovate@BU. Over the summer, she will be an intern at Boston Climate Action Network, gaining experience in advocacy, policy research, and operations. She will also be given the resources to develop her own social venture, in which she plans to create a project to encourage more of her generation to be involved in the legislative process.

At her school, Joelle is a part of two research labs, the Cognition and Decision Lab and BASE (Bio-behavioral and Social Emotional Development) Lab. She is also the President of her dance club BU miXx, and is involved with clubs Unofficial Project, Alpha Phi Omega, and Hawaii Cultural Association.

Joelle is determined to streamline the hiring process and workplace development at Menstrual Equity Initiative, and create a safe space for all members.