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Joann (Copp) Haugerud was born in 1930 on a farm near Lake City, Minnesota. She married Vincent Haugerud, a fellow student at St. Cloud State Teachers College in 1951. As an Air Force family, they lived with their two daughters in Washington, D. C. (four times), Seattle (twice), Minnesota, Texas, South Carolina, Tripoli, Libya, and Amherst, Massachusetts, finally choosing to return to Seattle where they settled in 1970. Haugerud completed her B. A. and M. A. in philosophy at the University of Washington in the 1960s. As a member of the Congregational Church she worked to change the church's statement of faith and in 1974 she joined the Seattle area Coalition Task Force on Women and Religion (later Coalition on Women and Religion).

The Coalition on Women and Religion was formed in January 1973 by a group of women concerned about the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment. The organizers, Jessie Kinnear, a Presbyterian, Eleanor Bilimoria, a Unitarian, and Shirlie Kaplan, a Jew, formed the interfaith group that quickly grew to more than 20 members, all concerned with bringing their religious institutions into the cause for women's equality. Whereas religious institutions recognized the need to combat racial injustice, the women's movement was largely dismissed. The group initially attempted to function without named officers, a move that hampered activities, and it was decided to install the usual officers with two people serving in each office.

In 1974 the group republished the 19th Century classic The Woman's Bible by Elizabeth Cady Stanton, which was a commentary on women in the Bible. The Revising Committee chose a woman-owned printing company, Island Industries Inc. on Vashon Island. A small ad placed in Ms. Magazine boosted sales. Haugerud began the organization's newsletter The Flame in January 1975. The Flame included information about the Coalition's meetings and events, as well as news, book reviews, and Haugerud's original cartoons about national and international women's rights. Through the newsletter the group was able to connect with other organizations and individuals across the United States and a few foreign countries. The publication continued as a monthly until 1983 when it became a quarterly, and eventually ceased publication in 1989.

Haugerud encouraged The Coalition to take on a number of publishing projects. Haugerud and Marie Fortune edited The Study Guide to the Woman's Bible published by the Coalition in 1975. Haugerud then used references, including an interlinear Greek-English literal translation, to produce The Word For Us: John, Mark, Romans, and Galatians restated in inclusive language, which was published by the Coalition in 1977 and has been out of print since the 1990s. The Word For Us was cited in U S News and World Report (Nov 1980) as an example of the controversy over sexist language in scriptural documents. Haugerud appeared as guest on The Donahue Show on December 10, 1980, placing the work of the Coalition in the national eye. The Coalition published two more of Haugerud's books, Flame Cartoons in 1978, and The Spirited Woman's Cartoon Book in 1990.

The Coalition on Women and Religion disbanded in the 1990s. Haugerud's formal work with women's organizations ended in the 1990s, and she shifted her attention to volunteer work as a tutor at John Marshall Alternative High School from 1995 to 2005.