Joan DiLillo

Joan’s career spans the fields of marketing, secondary education, and philanthropy. She has had a successful and varied career, including sales and marketing for ClubCorp, college lecturer, coordinating volunteers for Junior Achievement USA, and volunteering at Hudson High School, Hudson, Ohio for the entrepreneurial shark tank program.

Joan was born and raised in NE Ohio and graduated with a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in organizational communication from The University of Akron. Currently, DiLillo is a senior lecturer at the University of Akron in the School of Communication.

As a resident of Naples since 2019, she and her husband Rocco have been proud advocates donating $1.5 million toward The Naples Players’ capital renovation. The gift helped support the creation of the DiLillo Technical Wing, which encompasses the scene shop, props shop, costume shop and technical offices. The wing is designed to support The Naples Players’ performances by providing space to train volunteers, students, and local educators on personal expression through theater. Joan now serves on the Board of Directors.

Joan is proud to have contributed to the Educational Legacy Program and serves on the scholar committee for the Northern Ohio Italian American (NOIA)-for the advancement of Christian education. In addition to holding many officer positions including President for Toastmasters International, she is presently active in the Center for Nonviolent Communication and a past member of Public Relations Society of America.

As an avid reader, Joan started a book club during the pandemic, and it is still going strong. She enjoys all things theatre, weightlifting, swimming, extensive traveling and cooking Mediterranean dishes.

Joan splits her time between Hudson, Ohio, and Naples. She has been blissfully married to Rocco for 47 years.