Dr. Aurora Dawn Benton
Founder, Astrapto
I have a โwork hard, play hardโ motto and try my best to take advantage of the fun experiences, local food, and unique vistas each place has to offer. When it comes to impact, though, thereโs no monkeying around. I am deeply passionate about changing hearts, minds, behaviors, and systems to be sustainable. Those who see me speak and teach on this subject have no doubt that I live to do this. This is my jam and I look forward to an opportunity to share my enthusiasm, knowledge, and ideas with you.
โI recently attended a conference with multiple speakers including Aurora. I have heard many presentations on sustainability recently, so I was not sure I needed to attend her segment. Much to my surprise I was absolutely captivated! Not only was the content fresh and relevant, but her delivery was unscripted, thoughtful and engaging. I felt completely enlightened!โ
Speaking Engagements
Aurora was named a 2021 Top 30 Champions of Environmental Sustainability in Hospitality and Tourism by the International Hospitality Institute.
PAST SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS
Preventing Food Waste at MPI WEC in Louisville on May 2024 and Thought Leadership Summit in Indianapolis August 2024.
Middle Pennsylvania MPI Chapter on April 10, 2024 and PCMA Philadelphia Chapter Education Day on September 7, 2023, presenting Go Rogue: Making Diverse and Local Procurement Possible.
NACE Experience in Dallas on July 24, 2023.
ReFED in St. Louis on May 18, 2023 - panel on food waste reduction in hospitality
Waste 360 in New Orleans on May 1 - session: Accelerating Progress in the Fight Against Food Waste: Insights from the Pacific Coast Food Waste Commitment
PCMA New England Chapter speaker on May 16, 2023
๐ช๐ฎ๐๐๐ฒ ๐ก๐ผ๐, ๐ช๐ฎ๐ป๐ ๐ก๐ผ๐: ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น ๐ฆ๐ผ๐น๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ผ๐ผ๐ฑ ๐ช๐ฎ๐๐๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ webinar for PCMA APAC region on April 20, 2023
Equipping Students to Be Sustainability Leaders in the Workplace webinar for University Climate Ambassadors on April 17, 2023
Northwest Event Show in Seattle on March 15 - session: Prevention versus Treatment: How to Shift our Mindset about Food Waste
F&B Trends to Table with a Sustainability Twist (panel moderator) at PCMA Convening Leaders January 10, 2023. Watch the MashUp Studio interview with Aurora.
Reduce Event F&B Waste with a Sustainability Action Plan (PCMA session) at Smart Monday - IMEX, October 10, 2022
Sustainability Panel Moderator at Puget Sound Business Travel Associationโs Education Day on September 29, 2022
BEO Improv: Improve Social and Environmental Outcomes and Reduce Costs session at the NACE Experience Conference in Orlando on July 25, 2022
The Real Life Buyer podcast interview on Sustainability and Fair Trade in Procurement (episode 53)
Keynote speaker at the SITE Southern California chapter event on July 13, 2022 in Temecula, CA, on a talk entitled Lights. Camera. Impact!
Guest on the Eating at a Meeting Podcast on the topic of Embedding Sustainability into the Event Planning Process on July 6, 2022
BEO "Rethink": Embedding Sustainability from Planning Stages and Fresh or Stale: Ensure Sourcing is Innovative and Inclusive at Catersource in Anaheim, CA in May 2022
Sustainable Events Alliance Leadership Series - release of GO ROGUE: A Supplier Diversity Mandate for the Events Industry on March 1, 2022
Sustainability is a Team Sport at the Small Biz Expo at Cobb Galleria, Atlanta in December 2021
Sustainability: A Pathway to New Heights at the SITE Southeast Education Summit at the JW Marriott, Savannah in December 2021
Sustainability Panel Member at the SITE Young Leaders Conference at Caesarโs Forum in November 2021
Illuminating Sustainable Business and Climate Justice on the VIRIDESCENT Immersive Sustainability podcast in September 2021
Best Practices for Building Sustainability into RFPs as a Guest Lecturer in Santa Monica College Recycling and Resource Management course on September 16, 2021
The Purpose and Power of Green Teams on MUSE (Members United for Sustainable Events) Meetup on September 14, 2021
Distinct Leadership on the West Africa Young Leaders Conference on September 10, 2021
Society for Sustainable Eventโs Leadership Series: Big Opportunities and Pathways to Reimagine - Building Equitable Supply Chains on August 3, 2021
Sustainable Food and Beverage 3-part webinar series (Springing into Sustainability: The What, Where, How, Why and Who of Food and Beverage Sustainability) with NACE - June 2, June 9, and June 16, 2021
Producing Sustainable Events: Site Selection, Beyond the Checklists on the Sustainable Events Network - Florida and Caribbean on May 27th
How Companies, Organizations, and Individuals Can Adopt Innovative Sustainability Practices on the Innovative Mindset Podcast, January 2021
Playback of DojoLive Interview on May 27, 2020. Topic: How do you overcome common objections that stall and prevent sustainability initiatives?
Recovery through Sustainability on Arizona BTA Chapter Webinar on November 18, 2020
EIC Advance Campfire Session on November 20, 2020: Sustainability and Innovation for Better F&B Experiences
Creating Engagement in Remote Teams on the Out of Office podcast October 2020
Co-presenter Sustainability and Innovation for Better F&B Experiences at the MPI Golden State Collaborative on October 8, 2020
Moderator of Leadership and Resilience in Sustainable Events: A Roundtable Discussion, hosted by the Sustainable Event Alliance on September 28, 2020
The Leadership Journey Podcast Leading with Dr. Aurora Benton September 2020
Podcast interview on Buy Local on Starting Sustainability Podcast - August 2020
Podcast interview Corporate Sustainability & Green Teams Moving Forward on Modern Energy Management - July 2020
Reducing Plastics in Events on MPI DFW Chapter Webinar - July 22, 2020
AAHOA webinar Hotel Owners & Conquering COVID: Innovating and Executing On-Premise Catering in Post-COVID-19 on June 15, 2020
As part of HostsGlobal #MeetWithConfidence talk series, a panelist on the Reinventing the F&B Experience session on June 4, 2020 and the Elevating Sustainability Efforts, Mindfulness & Privacy session on June 11, 2020
DojoLIVE Interview Your Sustainability Legacy: Lame Excuses or Lasting Impact? on May 27, 2020
PCMA Webinar Panel Making Your Event Sustainable: A New Priority on May 12, 2020.
Sustainable Travel โ How You Can Make a Difference at Silicon Valley Business Travel Association Chapter monthly meeting (via webinar) on May 14, 2020
Group Facilitator at Sustainable Event Alliance Hackathon April 15, 2020. Learn more here.
AASHE Webinar on April 1, 2020. Topic: Equipping Students to Launch Green Teams at Work
Agritectureโs Travel-Free Digital Conference Series March 23, 2020. Topic: Buy Local 2.0 - Bridging the Gap Between Institutional Buyers and Local Producers
Green Sealโs Napa Valley Hotel Sustainability Workshop at the DoubleTree American Canyon on January 28, 2020
Sustainability: No Longer an Option, But a Necessity at PCMA Convening Leaders in San Francisco on January 6, 2020
Home Grown: Beat the Competition with Local F&B at HX (The Hotel Experience) in New York on November 11th, 2019
MPI Northern California Chapter Corks & Forks event in San Francisco on November 5th, 2019. Topic: Buy Local 2.0
MPI Michigan Chapter in Grand Rapids, MI on October 22nd, 2019, Topic: Creatively Addressing Food Waste in Events
Healthy Green Hotels: The Sustainability, Human Health Connection at Climate of Action, hosted by the Napa Valley Democrats on October 12, 2019
PCMA Webinar Busting the Myth and Moving the Needle on Food Donations - October 9th, 2019. Read about it and link to a playback here
MeetingsToday webinar Successful CSR Activities: Meetings Today Planner Think Tank on August 21, 2019 (click here to listen)
Global Business Travel Association in Chicago on August 6, 2019, moderate a fireside chat with Yum! Brands Travel Manager, Lisa Young: Explore the Full Potential of Travel in Your Companyโs Sustainability Program
VenueConnect (International Association of Venue Managers) in Chicago on July 23, 2019, on a panel: A Case Study for Food Waste Reduction in Venues. This panel showcased the work Astrapto did with The Baltimore Convention Center and Centerplate. See a video about this project here
Sustainable Event Professional Certificate sessions at Sustainable Brands-Detroit (June 2019) and Hosts Global Forum in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic (June 2019)
Traveling Towards the SDGs: Integrating the Sustainable Development Goals into Travel and Meetings Programs at IMEX Frankfurt (May 2018 and May 2019) and IMEX America (October 2018)
2019 Trends: Sustainability on the GBTA Podcast in January 2019 (click here to listen)
Moving Food Up the Recovery Hierarchy at the Baltimore Convention Center on Maryland Recyclers Network webinar (April 2019) (click here to listen)
Fighting Food Waste: A Triple Win for People, Planet and Prosperity at CMP Conclave (November 2018)
Changing a Venueโs Narrative through Food Conservation at Baltimore Hospitality Industry Event (July 2018) and as panelist at World Wildlife Fund Food Waste Reduction Strategies Workshop and the Mid-Atlantic Food Recovery Summit (October 2018) (click here for a video interview)
Careers in Sustainable Tourism on the International Society of Sustainability Professionals webinar and at the Virginia Green Travel Conference (March 2018)
Sustainability: From Add-on to Imperative on Global Business Travel Association webinar (November 2017 and October 2018) and at San Diego Chapter meeting (February 2018) and Spokane Chapter meeting (May 2019)
Aurora on a panel at the SETE Sustainable Tourism Conference in Athens, Greece.
Sustainability in Hospitality at SETE (Greek Tourism Federation) Annual Conference: part of โvision and realitiesโ panel, and presented a workshop on introducing sustainability into operations (October 2017)
Incubate a โBuy Localโ Strategy at Cornell Hospitality Research Conference (October 2017) (click here to listen to a webinar version of this speech)
Practical Hospitality Sustainability on the Lodging Leaders podcast (click here to listen)
Me and my little sister circa 1977, probably near Disney World.
Astrapto is the convergence of three passions: travel, entrepreneurship, and sustainability.
My love for hospitality began on childhood road trips. My sister and I would explore every inch of whatever hotel we were staying in and we dreamed of the sites we would see as we perused the hundreds of brochures we would collect (not exactly a sustainable practice, but that was pre-internet). In my early career, I attended conferences and through business travel got to see more of the world. In true work-hard-play-hard spirit, I made the most of these new and exciting places I visited.
I always feel curiosity and appreciation when I travel and experience what the world has to offer. Our planet does indeed have much to offer, but it is precious and it is limited. The hospitality and events industry has a unique opportunity to shine light on sustainability issues and steward resources in a way that guarantees generations of excellent travel and meeting experiences.
My love for entrepreneurship and social impact has manifested in more than 15 years of teaching and mentoring small businesses, especially social enterprises. My doctoral study was on food startups with social and environmental missions. I am a passionate advocate for justice in supply chains, supplier diversity, and buy local programs.
Iโm thrilled you are here. Whether itโs out of curiosity or a deep passion for doing good, it brings me joy to have a fellow traveler on this journey to sustainability.
โAurora