Joan Israel

Joan Israel (1930 – December 30, 2014) was an American psychotherapist and feminist. She was a founder and president of the Michigan chapter of the National Organization for Women (NOW) and chair of the child care committee.

Early life Israel was born in 1930. She received a bachelors' of arts degree from the University of Rochester in 1952 and a master's degree in social work from Smith College in 1954. Her masters focused on childcare plans for women suffering from psychosis who were hospitalized. She married Kenneth Israel, a psychiatrist, and the couple had three children. She also worked in private practice as a psychotherapist who was accredited by the Academy of Certified Social Workers (ACSW). While serving as the first vice president of Michigan's chapter, Israel organized and chaired the child care committee for the national organization between 1968 and 1970, when she was appointed by the Detroit Common Council to lead its new committee focusing on local child care needs. The report created by this committee led to the formation of the Wayne County Child Care Council, the first body to include both the city and county in planning for child care.

Israel served two terms as president of the Michigan chapter of NOW, succeeding Patricia Hill Burnett, between 1970 and 1974. During this time, she challenged the licences of a number of local television stations.

She was a member of the women's advisory committee for the Detroit Human Relations Commission between 1970 and 1973, when she was approached to lead the women's advisory committee for WXYZ-TV. She was the author of Surviving the Change: A Practical Guide to Menopause which was published in 1980 by Cinnibar Publications and the co-editor of Looking Ahead: A Woman's Guide to the Problems and Joys of Growing Older which was published in 1977 by Prentice Hall. She produced the short films 'Women Alone', about a Black single mother on Aid to Families with Dependent Children, and 'To Life', about three people coming to terms with aging.