Joanna Mary Berry Shields

Joanna Mary Berry Shields (July 7, 1884 - February 2, 1965) was a member of the original nine founders of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated.

Early life and education
Joanna was born in Catharpin, Virginia to Charles and Carrie Lucas Berry. Growing up, Berry attended private schools in Prince William County. At Manassas Industrial School in Manassas, Virginia, she graduated with high honors. She later attended Howard University's preparatory school in 1901, where she gained a high school education. Later, after college, Joanna earned a cum laude Bachelor of Arts degree in social science and mathematics.

Involvement with founding Alpha Kappa Alpha
Shields helped to found Alpha Kappa Alpha on January 15, 1908 with eight other women. She was the custodian of the chapter's records in 1909. Joanna was minimally involved in Alpha Kappa Alpha affairs after graduation. Until relocating to Winston-Salem, North Carolina in 1922, Berry began affiliating with Alpha Kappa Alpha, through a local graduate chapter, Phi Omega. She also was a chapter delegate to the 1935 Richmond Boulé and received a special diamond pin for founding Alpha Kappa Alpha. She also volunteered in youth activity through Alpha Kappa Alpha. Beginning in 1937, she was a member with Tau Omega in New York City until her death. She also kept in contact with fellow founder Lavinia Norman.

Teaching and activities
After accomplishing a degree, Berry went back to Virginia and taught at her old school, Manassas Institute. In 1911, she moved to North Carolina, where she taught at Slater Normal School, which is currently Winston-Salem State University. She met her husband, Samuel J. Shields, in New York City in 1913. To this union, six children were born. The now Mrs. Shields and her family moved to South Carolina, where she taught at Central School in Darlington. In 1920, she helped to increase the school year months for African-American children from three to six months through the Rosenwald Fund.

Two years later, she and her family moved back to Winston-Salem, where she began participating in civic and religious activities, such as being a secretary at the Wentz Memorial Church and working with the church's nursery school. Shields and her family later moved to New York City in 1937. Shields taught English at Christopher Columbus High School in the Bronx until 1943.

Shields also participated in community related activities such as the Harlem YMCA, NAACP, Negro History Club, and the National Council of Negro Women. She was also instrumental in advocating for consumers and senior citizen's rights by serving on the Mayor Committee on Human Rights and the Consumers Protective Committee. She also volunteered to care for the sick and ill by visiting hospitals and sewing. She was also interested in the voter's registration movement. She died on February 2, 1965, in New York City.