Today's Manners Director, Joanna Kunz, pictured above second from right, at the April 2019 American Association of Etiquette Professionals Conference in Denver, Colorado, and below in 2021.

Meet the Director...

Joanna Kunz has been a part of cotillion and etiquette education in some way-- as observer, participant, assistant, and instructor--her entire life.  Her father, Mr. William Phillips, a Dance Educators of America trained instructor, taught cotillion in Virginia for more than 60 years.  Upon her father's retirement in 2018, Joanna took the reins and continues to teach in Virginia.  In 2013, she started teaching cotillion in North Carolina.  In 2019 Today's Manners was formed and offers cotillion sessions, etiquette workshops, guided etiquette dinners, and mini manners camps.  She is a certified etiquette consultant and is an active member of the American Association of Etiquette Professionals.

Mrs. Kunz is also a certified K-12 ESL teacher and currently teaches middle school in North Carolina.  She taught in Japan as part of the JET Program, and prior to moving to North Carolina, worked in Washington DC promoting US-Japan relations through cultural and educational programming.  From the school classroom in the U.S. and abroad, Joanna Kunz is most at home teaching young people, specifically middle school students.  "To me, they are the perfect blend of silly and serious.  You can joke with them and they will laugh with you, but you can also be serious with them and they understand."​​​