Dr. Ashley Bissonnette, PhD, MPH, CHES, is a 2007 graduate of Quinebaug Valley Community College and is now a professor of public health, teaching at QVCC and Eastern Connecticut State University with a focus on Indigenous health and healing.
Dr. Bissonnette worked for over a decade at the Mashantucket Pequot Musuem and Research Center uncovering patterns of historical trauma and health disparities, nutrition and food sovereignty, and indigenous medicine.
Dr. Bissonnette is currently working on a volume with Florida University as editor and contributing author entitled, Beyond the Battlefield Historical Memory, Archaeology, and the Social Experience of War and Conflict – a book that explores the disruption of cultural lifeways by way of war and genocide and how these events have manifested in the health of indigenous peoples today (e.g., historical trauma, drug abuse, diabetes, and violence).
Connecticut Public’s film screening of “Blood Sugar Rising” takes a deep look into diabetes and includes Native perspectives about the experience and treatment of this devastating disease. To help spread awareness about diabetes, Ashley has been working with community partners and students to educate about diabetes and promote this special film screening, which is accessible via Facebook Watch. For questions and comments, please reach out to Ashley at ABissonnette@qvcc.edu.