Meet Nancy Jo

Comedy Writer / Humor Advisor (HA)

Nancy Jo began studying standup comedy when she needed a hobby. In the 1990s, her spiritual outlet was training as a martial artist until she developed a work-related condition that resulted in neck surgery. She decided comedy would be a fun pastime until she could get back to kicking ass. That hobby turned into a part-time business operating a Texas -certified defensive driving school. Later, Nancy Jo proved comedy has healing qualities when both feet were severed, and later reattached, to her body following an accident. Two decades later, she used the same concept to avoid chemotherapy, and she remains cancer free today. Before Covid changed the world, she helped others by performing in mental institutions, veterans facilities and substance abuse centers. Nancy Jo continues pursuing venues for what she calls conscious comedy.

Modern Day Court Jester / Community Activist

When asked to describe Nancy Jo’s brand, those close to her describe her as “a woman who doesn’t suffer fools easily.” She’s known for fighting for the underdog and encouraging people to buck systems that buck them. In the early part of the new decade, Nancy Jo was elected to public office. She jokes, but she really did win by six votes , and she actually ran unopposed to be the District 3 Representative on the King County North Highline Unincorporated Area Council. The group represented 31,000 people living in unincorporated areas adjacent to Seattle. After serving as an elected official, Nancy Jo helped King County lawmakers draft legislation, and she was appointed by the King County Executive to serve on the county’s Equal Employment Opportunity Affirmative Action Committee, which was dedicated to establishing policies supporting equity in hiring practices.

Journalist / Soon-to-be-author

Nancy Jo has always been a truth seeker. She dedicated more than two decades of her life to working as a journalist. Her career involved reporting as a staff writer for a daily Hearst-owned newspaper in Texas and as a community newspaper editor for publications in Texas and Washington state. Her experience provided insight on how advertising dollars and the media influence behavior and beliefs of the status quo. She’s using that knowledge to develop her first book - a non-fiction project to help baby boomers navigate ageism in a new age way. Her goal is for a book to be on brick and mortar bookstore shelves within a couple of years.

• Headshot by Michele Marotta / Marotta Photography

• About the Dalmation photo: I once helped the North Highline Fire Department in an unincorporated area near Seattle get a new firetruck and jaws of life by marching in the Burien, WA, 4th of July parade as Sparky the Firedog. I needed a guide as I couldn’t see very well in the head. I asked the local branch of the Red Hat Society, but the women turned me down because they thought I was making from of them.