Dr. Joan Cousin has dedicated her time and talent to a crusade against HIV and AIDS. She has successfully established centers impacting this critical health area around the world. She was cited by President Bush for AIDS Education and the Center for Disease Control and the Congressional Records of the United States for her consistent commitment to HIV/AIDS education.

As the spouse of the Senior Bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, Bishop Philip R. Cousin, the Presiding Prelate of the Fourth Episcopal District, including Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Indiana, Chicago, Illinois, South Dakota and Canada, she has remained methodical in programmatic efforts to empower lives.

Her desire for women to tell their life experiences for future generations inspired the book, How I Got Over, edited by Dr. Bettye J. Allen and Dr. Trevy A. McDonald, is a collection of stories that are testimonies of faith, hope, courage and love.

She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Board Member of the Balm in Gilead, National Association for the Study of Negro Life and History and Life Member of the NAACP.

She and her husband are the proud parents of five sons who are pastors in the African Methodist Episcopal Church, Philip, Jr., Steven, David, Michael, and Joseph. They enjoy twelve grandsons and four granddaughters.