Bio: Dr. Aurora M. Brito Biography Dr. Aurora M. Brito completed her doctorate through Teachers College Columbia University. She was inspired to pursue her terminal degree as she believes that education is a pathway towards greater equity and inclusion within American society. Education, she believes, creates rich opportunities that can transform individuals, families, and future generations. Aurora is the first generation of immigrant parents from Cape Verde Islands to attend and graduate college. She has served in workforce development and as an administrator and program director, as an educator, and as instructional design trainer/facilitator. She has also designed culturally competent curriculum to address workplace and healthcare disparities. Dr. Brito considers herself an intuitive transformational coach. She helps people to find meaning in their lives and in their work. Aurora’s work history includes organizational development and consulting, corporate recruiting, career development, and coaching across levels from executive to early entry college graduate. She has also volunteered with Community Training and Employment Resources (CTER) where she has trained young adults (18-24+) on job search skills, resume preparation, as well as interviewing skills using mock interviews on camera. Aurora has facilitated job readiness soft skills training that aligns with employer credentials and expectations for those that have employment gaps and barriers. She has been successful in placing hundreds of people in jobs that became careers. As a consultant, Dr. Brito has successfully recommended and implemented infrastructure in dormant career services departments within the City University of New York (CUNY), Metropolitan College of New York, and Brooklyn Educational Opportunity Center and with First Source Staffing (Community Staffing Services of Fifth Avenue Committee where she brought the organization into the profitability of over $550,000 employing a corporate full-cycle recruitment model. Guiding and helping others to find their purpose and employment opportunities has been an exciting adventure for Aurora. She enjoys hearing the success stories that her clients, students, and people enthusiastically share with her when their lives transform. People who achieve personal life and career transformations ultimately transform their own families and that of their communities. Dr. Brito is passionate about work that unifies humanity along the common ground. Aurora’s teaching philosophy is embedded in a student-centered approach. By mutual agreement, students are made aware that different, diverse points of view are welcomed. She encourages her students to challenge opposing views by engaging in deep critical thought in an atmosphere charged with mutual respect. Becoming critically aware through reflection upon experience assists students towards greater self-awareness. This is not always an easy process. Students discover that their lived experiences have meaning. Aurora adheres to storytelling as an applied theatre technique for learning. Students of all ages often realize that there is a more visceral way of knowing when they can map their own experiences with that of their peers to enhance affective empathy. Empathic stories allow for connections between people. Dr. Brito’s research interests lie in the use of storytelling as a learning technique to encourage social justice and social action by using the power of the theatre She is committed to a more empathic and just society for all people.