“To say we are excited to have Aurora on our team is an understatement.”
Cheezi Farmer, Board Chair

My name is Aurora Higgs (she/they) and I am a Black nonbinary femme from Richmond’s Southside. My vision for the role as Program Director is dynamic, visionary, and equity-based. This means that I plan on offering future-oriented work that amplifies the diverse voices of the Richmond metropolitan community through a race-informed equity lens. I want to uplift the needs and platforms of those communities most impacted by white supremacy and oppression. I have a rich background in creative programming and production, advocacy, equity, and organizational inclusion. I will draw on my expertise to honor the needs and wishes of the community.

Simply put: I am an artist-scholar who intends on reallocating resources to those most in need. I have a vested-interest in disrupting narratives of trauma in the community. Despite the oppression that faces our historically-marginalized communities, we refuse to be single stories of trauma. We deserve programming and resources that allow us to show-up in authentic ways that can also center our joy and all of the things we contribute to society as a whole. As a community center. I consider my job to uplift processes of capacity-building, radical joy, and storytelling to complement the traditional approaches to progress and liberation.

To my community reading this: Please see me as a resource, and let us know what kinds of affirming programs you’d like to see coming out of Diversity Richmond. You can best reach me via email at

Aurora received her BS in Business Marketing with a minor in French from VCU as well as her MEd in Leadership Studies, School of Education with a concentration in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Education. She is currently obtaining her PhD at VCU in Media, Art and Text with a concentration in Transgender representation in media.