[8] Knoerle participated in projects with Monastic Interreligious Dialogue[9] and initiated the Brookland Commission, an inquiry beginning in 1988 into the place of intellectual life among communities of women religious.

[10] In 1988 Knoerle began as a program director of the Lilly Endowment, overseeing the Religion Division.

In this role, she particularly championed telling the story of colleges founded by women's religious congregations.

She also volunteered in the fiber program at White Violet Center for Eco-Justice as a spinner and weaver.

She received the John K. Lamb Award for her service to Terre Haute and a Ford Foundation Fellowship.

[13] After her death, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College named their new athletic facility the Jeanne Knoerle Sports and Recreation Center in her honor.