CHOC at Mission Viejo Staff

Joni started her tenure with the Charity in November 2008 as a volunteer in the Ronald McDonald Family Room at CHOC Children’s at Mission Hospital. After 3 years she accepted a position as the Family Room manager, where she continues to this day. Joni has an extensive background in meeting planning, having worked with Hewlett-Packard for 10 years as a corporate meeting planner where she was responsible for events around the world. While attending San Diego State University, where she studied Marketing, Joni began what would be a long career in the hotel industry, serving as a Banquet Captain for the Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel, the Intercontinental in San Diego, and at various Marriott properties. Duties included acting as liaison between the guest, Chef and all banquet staff. Organization and high customer service skills were absolutely critical for success. Joni enjoys adventure and in October 2007 had the wonderful opportunity of trekking to the Base Camp of Mount Everest at an elevation of 17,500 feet above sea level. She’s lived in both Rotterdam, The Netherlands and Mazatlan, Mexico.

Joni has been married to Willem Ooms for 27 years, whom she met while on vacation in Greece. They have two children. Alexandra is 24 and is works in Clinical Oncology at Stanford. Her son, Addison, is 21, and is the starting Center on the UC Berkeley (CAL) football team. Joni is an avid walker and logs a minimum of 25 miles a week with her Australian Shepard, Khumbu.