Through Rotary, a police officer expands her worldview

Posted by Ian Ballantine

Taken from RI HERE

In her early days of policing, Joanne Serkeyn had to confront a barrage of distressing events. The 9/11 attacks had just happened. And after returning to work from maternity leave, she endured multiple months with a lot of calls for homicides and other tragedies. “I felt like I was the Grim Reaper.”

She was starting to become cynical when her commander suggested she join Rotary. She eventually became president-elect of the Rotary Club of Ancaster A.M. in Ontario and was sent to the Rotary International Convention in England. “I walked into the House of Friendship and was gobsmacked,” she says. “I could not believe the good that was going on in the world.”

Serkeyn, now a member of the Rotary Club of Lincoln, Ontario, has served for 28 years at the Hamilton Police Service. She works as the DNA coordinator in the forensics unit. Over the years, she’s noted a connection between missing persons cases and human trafficking. At a Rotary institute event, she learned about Rotary Action Groups and got involved with one devoted to a cause close to her heart: ending slavery and human trafficking. “Rotary Action Groups rejuvenate people,” she says. “They make people passionate about Rotary.”

In July, Serkeyn will become the governor of District 7090, which encompasses 75 Rotary and Rotaract clubs throughout southern Ontario and western New York. She’s focusing on a districtwide initiative against human trafficking. “People think they can’t make a difference with human trafficking,” she says. “But together, we can move the needle. We have a social responsibility to protect our young. We have an opportunity to be proactive.”

This story originally appeared in the May 2026 issue of Rotary magazine.