Shawna Lesseur

Dr. Shawna M. Lesseur is an expert in holistic, interdisciplinary adult education and training; international art and politics; and innovative instructional design. She has more than a decade of experience as a college educator, teaching first-year through graduate-level courses, and as thought leader in higher education and training technology. Much of her work has focused on program building, management through transition, policy development for diversity and equity, curriculum development, and leadership coaching. In the classroom, her pedagogy focuses on building classroom community, creating authentic intellectual challenges, and developing engaging hands-on lessons.

She is also active in the global arts and human rights community. She is a Committee Member for the Cambodia Town Film Festival in Long Beach, California, where she has volunteered for eight years. She has directed and presented at international conferences and public events consistently. Most notably, in 2018 co-directed an international Art and Conflict academic workshop at the University of Melbourne Law School.

Lesseur earned an Associate of Arts and Sciences from Tacoma Community College in 2005. She graduated from the University of North Carolina, Wilmington in 2008 with a B.A. in English and a minor in Spanish. She completed an M.A. in English with a Graduate Certificate in Human Rights in 2010, a Graduate Certificate in Feminist Studies in 2013, and a M.A. in Political Science in 2014, all from the University from Connecticut. Finally, she successfully defended her Ph.D. in International Relations in April 2020: "Pinching Politics: An Ontology and Pedagogy of Genocide Film."