Joleen was born and raised in Utica, New York. She attended school in Utica from her first day of kindergarten through her senior year of college.

She holds a bachelors degree in journalism from Utica College. She minored in writing and also took a large concentration of courses involving crime and criminology -- two of her interests.

Joleen began her career as a copywriter/continuity director at Rock 107/WTLB in Washington Mills, New York. She began her television journalism career at NewsChannel 2 in November 1993.