Joyce earned her B.A. at Rhodes, a liberal arts college in Memphis, Tennessee, where she majored in both Religious Studies and Classical Languages. She then studied Ethics at Tübingen University (Germany) as a Rotary International Ambassadorial Scholar. From 2006 to 2015, Joyce served as Associate Pastor for Congregational Life at Fourth Presbyterian Church ("Fourth") in Chicago, a large urban church whose membership numbers over 5000 before becoming Pastor/Head of Staff at Swarthmore Presbyterian Church. She is passionate about building interfaith relationships.