Joan Maloof studied Plant Science at the University of Delaware, Environmental Science at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, and Ecology at the University of Maryland College Park. She has published research articles about pollination biology in the journals Ecology and The American Journal of Botany (among others). Since 2002 she has expanded her ecological studies into the forest. Her book "Teaching the Trees: Lessons from the Forest" (University of Georgia Press, 2005) won an Honorable Mention from the Association for the Study of Literature and the Environment. Her second book, "Among the Ancients: Adventures in the Eastern Old-Growth Forests," was published in April 2011 by Ruka Press.

Maloof is currently developing a network of forests across the US which will remain forever unlogged.