Dr. Edna Aurelus is an Associate Professor at Wagner College. She is the owner of EVS Health Services Clinic located in Staten Island NY. Dr. Aurelus delivers care both for clients with primary and mental health needs. She is currently licensed to practice psychiatry and primary health in New York, New Jersey and Arizona. In the spring of 2014, Dr. Aurelus completed her Doctorate in Advanced Nursing Practice at Arizona State University. In the spring of 2018, she completed a Post-Doctorate Degree in Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner. Dr. Aurelus is dually board certified from the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) as a Family Nurse Practitioner and Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner. Dr. Aurelus’s extensive experience in psychiatry includes the old St. Vincent Hospital known now as Richmond University Medical Center (RUMC), South Beach Psychiatric Center, Banner Behavioral Health Hospital and Perryville Prison, the only state female prison in Arizona. She is currently the Lead Professor for the psychiatric nursing course at Wagner College in Staten Island. She is the author of multiple peer-reviewed articles and co-authored a book chapter. She adopts the concept of psychological safety and empathy in her classroom to encourage students to participate in class discussion without any fear. She is aware of how stressful and traumatic experiences can affect learning and one’s mental health. She is very vocal for women empowerment through education and social injustice, which is one of the many reasons she started her own foundation in her native country in 2014 called EVS Smile Foundation.