GWYN CIESLA
(she/her), President

After co-chairing the first two Aurora Pride Parades with Kimberly Adams as part of Indivisible Aurora, Gwyn has lead Aurora Pride since it became an independent organization in 2019. She lives on the west side of Aurora with her wife (who had the idea for the parade in the first place) and two children. She does computery things for a large international tech firm, and enjoys spending time with her cats.

Brittney Borowicz Keller
(She/Her)

Brittney Borowicz Keller has been an Aurora resident since 2017, moving here with her husband and cat. One of Brittney’s first endeavors upon moving to Aurora was finding a way to connect with the community. This is when she found out about Aurora’s first Pride Parade via a Facebook post from Gwyn. She quickly joined the volunteer team and has been a core member of the chaos ever since. Since 2017, the Keller family has expanded, adding in a dog and two silly children. By day, Brittney works in digital marketing and by night, you can often find her crocheting, watching trash TV, planning her next garden, or learning about superheroes from her toddler.

ashton bishop
(he/him)

Ashton lives in Aurora with his husband, Zachary. The two have lived in Aurora since 2019. Ashton owns Bishop Weddings where he is the lead wedding officiant. His interests and hobbies include camping, hiking, queer film and television, and Star Trek.

meagan waycaster
(she/her)

Meagan Waycaster has lived in or bordering Aurora her entire life. She originally volunteered for the first pride parade after seeing a post and has enjoyed helping the team in whatever ways she can since then. She has always found the city to be an accepting and vibrant place that is full of personality. She believes that Aurora is a place for anyone and everyone and hopes by joining the board that she can help make it as inclusive and welcoming as possible. Meagan is a believer in radical acceptance and building bridges in the community. She has a passion for people and sharing life stories. She believes with openness and creativity we can become the best versions of ourselves possible.

Penelope Torres
(She/her)

Penelope has been a resident of Aurora since 2008 and has been actively involved in the community nearly since the beginning. In her spare time she volunteers on the Steering Committee for the Chicago Human Rights Campaign, the local chapter of the nation’s largest LGBTQ+ civil rights advocacy group. Additionally she has been serving as a Commissioner on the Aurora Human Relations Commission and is in her third term of appointment. The Aurora Human Relations Commission strives to create a safe and welcoming City for all. Penelope has been involved with Aurora Pride since its’ beginning - from the advocacy stages all the way through to present day. 

Her professional career has been focused in the Arts with over 20+ years of professional photography experience along with and a background in theatre and comedy. She has had many internationally published works, a solo gallery show, and her photography can be found in the Professional Photographers of America Loan and Merit collections. She is a graduate of The Second City’s Acting Lab Conservatory Program and currently works in Chicago theatre. Most days she can be found reading contracts and working on nationally touring Broadway productions in Chicago. She is also the mom of an adorable dog and cat and likes to spend her rare free time getting in as much fur baby snuggles as possible.