Joe & Diane Wood
Joe and I have always believed that our own flourishing as human beings depends on the well-being of the community.
With experiences and opportunities presented to them, Joe and Diane Wood chose to dedicate their professional lives to community building through a social justice lens.
Diane and Joe met in Omaha, Nebraska, in the late 1970s while Joe was a faculty member at the University of Nebraska. Since then, the couple has worked as educators in four different communities, Arlington, Virginia, Portland, Maine, and Baltimore, Maryland, among them. “We always somehow ended up involved in the communities we lived in. Sometimes, we were invited. Sometimes, we invited ourselves,” Joe reflected.
Joe’s academic work focused on urban geography and social justice. As an education professor, Diane supported the arts, education, violence prevention, and working with economically disadvantaged students and children. “Diane and I were doing different but complementary things. In every case, it had to do with wanting to support the community as a whole by supporting people most in need,” Joe said. They embedded themselves in the places where they lived, seeking to understand obvious needs and engaging with people directly impacted by their work, often bringing their students into the work. In each instance, their interest in community went far beyond theory and the classroom.
“Joe and I have always believed that our own flourishing as human beings depends on the well-being of the community,” Diane reflected. “Twenty years ago, I conducted a research project in three Lancaster public schools and was really struck with the diversity and good-heartedness of a lot of Lancaster students and educators. When we decided to retire here, we wanted to get involved with more of that.”
As with other cities they’ve called home, Joe and Diane sought out initiatives already taking place. When Joe volunteered as a grant reviewer for the Lancaster County Community Foundation, a clear path to giving emerged. They have since contributed to the I Love Lancaster Fund and the Reparations Action Fund for Tomorrow —both funds committed to meeting Lancaster County’s evolving needs today and building a more resilient future.
The Reparations Action Fund for Tomorrow envisions a future where the contributions and sacrifices of Lancaster’s Black residents are acknowledged and celebrated. Joe’s experience in Baltimore led him to understand that reparations means repair through reinvestment in communities that have experienced long disinvestment. The fund, which local congregations and individuals can contribute to, is led by African American/Black community members. It aspires to create an equitable community that prioritizes healing, economic empowerment, and social justice, ensuring that every individual has opportunity to thrive and help shape a vibrant future. 
The I Love Lancaster Fund is the Community Foundation’s most flexible and responsive, strategically focusing the community’s endowment on initiatives that build resiliency and ensure a resilient future for Lancaster County.
For Joe and Diane, contributing to these funds dovetailed with their ongoing social justice activism and commitment to fostering authentic dialogue across differences. Learning from their collective experience working in many diverse communities, they’ve come to believe intentional conversation is a step toward true understanding among neighbors and ultimately stronger, more connected cities. “If I had anything that I hoped for Lancaster, it would be that we keep the intellectual lives of people alive for the sake of understanding one another and understanding how to make a better community and opportunities for people,” Diane said. “That’s what we feel most fiercely about.”
Learn more about giving through the Community Foundation here.
