Avital Shira is the Director of Arts Integration and Innovation for Georgia Tech Arts. She is also a lecturer in the School of Literature, Media, and Communications at Georgia Tech, the Director of Strategy and Engagement for Creative Re/Frame, and the Strategic Director for IDEA Con, the largest student innovation and entrepreneurship conference in New England. Previously, Avital taught at Tufts University and Boston University. She also led community engagement strategy in Colorado for the Markle Foundation's Skillful initiative and spent six years traveling the United States, directing and assistant directing in cities all around the country. She is a member of the Lincoln Center Directors Lab and was named Best Director at the 2012 Portland Outdoor Shakespeare Festival for her production of Twelfth Night. Avital graduated from the MFA Directing and Arts Administration certificate programs at Boston University and holds a degree in Theatre Studies and English literature from Yale University.