Meet Joy Burns

  Posted on February 12, 2024  by admin  No comments

Adrienne “Joy” Burns

Joy was born in Harlem and grew up in the Bronx, NY. Her family’s roots in the Caribbean and the Carolinas led her to spend over 20 years in genealogy research. The time she spent in archives also led to curiosity about the lives of enslaved people in colonial CT. A collaboration with the New Haven Museum and the Witness Stones Project researching the lives of enslaved people at the Pardee-Morris House led to her current position as Director of Outreach for the Witness Stones Project, an educational initiative whose mission is to restore the history and honor the humanity of the enslaved individuals who helped build our communities. In 2020 Joy was invited by President Salovey and David Blight to join the Yale and Slavery Working Group to investigate Yale’s historical roles in and associations with slavery, the slave trade, and abolition. 

Joy has been a member of the Episcopal Church of St Paul and St James in New Haven CT for over 20 years. She has worked for 40+ years as a Physician Associate. For over 16 years she’s worked in Hematology/Oncology at The Smilow Cancer Hospital. For the past 6 years she has also been one of the leaders of Elm Community Insight, an engaged meditation community that meets in the New Haven Free Public Library on Saturday mornings.