Stephanie Briggs is an Assistant Professor in the English Department at the Community College of Baltimore County in Baltimore, Maryland. She is the recent recipient of the Center for Contemplative Mind in Society Building Communities grant for “Practical Empowerment: Building Contemplative Communities With Students of Color.” She has fully incorporated arts- and movement-based contemplative practices into her English classes and started a Contemplative Communities Circle group, now in its second year, for faculty and staff that focuses on social justice, compassion, and self-care. Stephanie Briggs is an Assistant Professor in the English Department at the Community College of Baltimore County in Baltimore, Maryland. She is the recent recipient of the Center for Contemplative Mind in Society Building Communities grant for “Practical Empowerment: Building Contemplative Communities With Students of Color.” She has fully incorporated arts- and movement-based contemplative practices into her English classes and started a Contemplative Communities Circle group, now in its second year, for faculty and staff that focuses on social justice, compassion, and self-care. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at www.ted.com/tedx