Joan Wennstrom Bennett (born September 15, 1942) is a fungal geneticist who also is active in issues concerning women in science. Educated at Upsala College (B.S. 1963) and the University of Chicago (M.S. 1964, Ph.D. 1967), she was on the faculty of Tulane University for 35 years. She is a past president of the American Society for Microbiology (1990-1991) and of the Society for Industrial Microbiology and Biotechnology (2001-2002), and past Editor in Chief of Mycologia (2000-2004). She was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2005.