Natalia Gomes Franca’s research was centered on theories of empathy and how empathetic communication helps communities collaborate and grow. Her research paper, ‘Sensory Storytelling’, documents her participatory research into non-verbal ways for people to understand one another’s emotional states. This paper was accepted at the Cumulus 2016 Conference in Hong Kong. While at Cumulus, Natalia was also able to represent the Emily Carr DESIS Lab at the DESIS Assembly Hong Kong 2016. As our representative, she presented a project from the Emily Carr DESIS lab to an international gathering of DESIS labs. Her final thesis, Sensory Cards: Fostering Empathy and Connection within Community Groups can be found at (http://ecuad.arcabc.ca/islandora/object/ecuad%253A12928).