trainings in the Newark community. In addition, Lillian currently works as a drama therapist for 180 Turning Lives Around, the lead domestic violence agency of Monmouth County where she provides therapy to children and runs parent support groups. She runs theatre residencies in Newark Public Schools, after school drama sessions for Arts 4 Kids, and runs expressive arts therapy programs at several shelters in Newark with families experiencing homelessness. Previously, she worked as an adjunct professor for Rutgers - NJIT Theatre Arts Program and theatre program at Montclair State University, the YWCA Union County, Women Aware, Inc., Arts Horizons, Montclair Art Museum, Cornerstone Theater Company, Elizabeth Youth Theater Ensemble, Roots and Branches Theater, Union County Division of Children and Youth Services, Newark Recreational Centers and schools, Windsor Healthcare, Cornell Care & Rehabilitation, Catholic Charities Dioceses of Metuchen. Lillian serves various communities as an educator, drama therapist, and organizer as well as creates artwork exploring her Portuguese-American identity, curates exhibitions, writes, performs, and directs. 

Lillian's multidisciplinary art exhibitions, performances, and artwork have been exhibited through various museums, organizations, festivals, galleries, and universities. Her most notable works were founding {LIPS}:  a living incubator performance space and _gaia theatre (grounded in feminist perspectives), “Newark at the Intersections: Who Is the Renaissance For?”, “Newark Artists’ Stories”, “Into the Past with the Bethany Seniors of Newark”, “The Next Chapter: Stories of Survival”,  “The Vagina Monologues: V-Day Worldwide Campaign" and organizing the “Newark Playwrights Festival” on behalf NJIT for the RU-NJIT Theatre Program.

Lillian is a graduate of Rutgers University - Newark, where she received her BS from Rutgers University - Newark where she majored in Arts Management at the Rutgers Business School, and Theatre Arts and Speech in the School of Arts and Sciences, received her Masters degree in Applied Theatre studies program at CUNY’s School of Professional Studies, and her Registered Drama Therapy credentials from North American Drama Therapy Association. Lillian holds several certifications through Rutgers University School of Social Work, is a Domestic Violence Specialist (DVS) candidate under the New Jersey Coalition to End Domestic Violence, certified in yoga and Sand Play. She has trained with Chris Vine and Helen White, Michael Rohd, Julian Boal, La MaMa Experimental Theatre,  SoJourn Theatre, Lincoln Center Directors Lab in NYC, Cornerstone Theater Company, New Jersey Coalition to End Domestic Violence and the National Center for Creative Aging. Now she is working towards a Registered Expressive Arts Therapy (REAT) credential and becoming Board Certified in Drama Therapy. 

Lillian currently serves on the Board of the Friends of the Newark Public Library, Government Affairs Licensure Committee with North American Drama Therapy Association (NADTA), and International Expressive Arts Therapy Association - NJ Membership Committee. Lillian is passionate about her work and committed to making a difference locally, nationally, and internationally through meaningful connections in the communities she serves. When Lillian is not doing the work she loves, she spends her time in nature, biking, rollerskating and traveling the world.  Visit her on instagram @dramawithatwist_ or at www.dramawithatwist.org. 

Drama therapy is a therapeutic framework that uses metaphor to improve emotional well-being and healing, promote self awareness, rehearse and  practice behaviors, resolve conflicts and achieve personal goals.