Joan (Eisenberg) Mannheimer was born January 12, 1927. She received her B.A. and M.A. degrees from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1948 and 1966. She married Robert E. Mannheimer in June 1947 and they had three sons, David, Steven and Robert A. Her husband, a University of Iowa alumnus, died in February 2007.

In 1964 Ms. Mannheimer worked in community relations for the Children and Families of Iowa organization. She was an instructor in sociology at Drake University from 1967-1969. She contributed articles to Child Welfare, the journal of the Child Welfare League of America. Ms. Mannheimer developed a program for the Iowa Department of Human Resources designed to utilize volunteer workers and was an active volunteer herself.

Ms. Mannheimer collected contemporary American ceramics, and donated many pieces to the University of Iowa Museum of Art. Her collection was exhibited there in 1981, titled "Centering on Contemporary Clay: American Ceramics from the Joan Mannheimer Collection." She is the recipient of the 1993 Elliott/Stanley Award for Acquisitions for her outstanding contributions to the permanent UIMA ceramics collections. Her extensive cultural volunteer work included co-founding the Friends Development Council of the University of Iowa Museum of Art and serving on the museum's advisory committee.