Bellow you will find the bio and contact information of some of the storytellers that have blessed us by sharing a story on our 80 Minutes Around the World Immigration stories storytelling show.
Feel free to contact them if you are looking to add diversity to your lineup, or if you liked the story they share
(you can listen to that story by clicking on their picture)
Feel free to contact them if you are looking to add diversity to your lineup, or if you liked the story they share
(you can listen to that story by clicking on their picture)
CHICAGO
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Alana Murphy
(email) [email protected] has spent the past ten years studying international migration policy and supporting displaced populations in the Middle East, Latin America, Southeast Asia, China and the United States. She is also a spoken word poet and storyteller who seeks to write and tell stories presenting unique angles on migration and refugee resettlement. Alana is passionate about using cycling and the outdoors as tools for advocacy and community building. Many of the stories she performs describe experiences from her cycling adventures and community engagement work. In 2018, she spent 88 days biking 4,380 miles across the United States meeting and interviewing people about their experiences coming to the U.S. as refugees. Find out more about her journey and listen to interviews at www.beautifulcrossing.com. |
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Alanys "Jandro" Gazapo
(him/his) email: [email protected] also check his web stie alanysgazapo.com Born in Cuba and immigrating to the US during the Soviet collapse, he now lives in Chicago. He is a queer software developer with a love for writing, salsa dancing, traveling, and flamboyant brooches. When not riding his bike, you can find him eating chocolate cookies and drinking manhattans while watching murder documentaries. |
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Alina Serban [email protected]
was born and raised in Romania, where she spent over 35 years of her life. For the past 5 years, Alina has been calling Chicago home. In Romania, she was a TV journalist, with a career of 17 years and thousands of hours on live television. Her biggest accomplishment was presenting Eurovision Romania twice, once on the main stage in 2015, and the second time in the Green Room in 2018. In the US, Alina graduated The Second City storytelling class, performed twice on The Second City stages, and also curated and organized Together for Ukraine, a storytelling fundraising event. Alina loves The Moth and after years of listening to the podcast, she told a story at a Chicago Moth StorySLAM. She finished third place, on a memorable night making a dream come true. Alina works as Chief of Staff for Embrace Living Communities, a non-profit organization providing affordable housing to low and very-low income seniors and people with disabilities. Alina lives in the Chicagoland area with her husband Matt, and their son Daniel. |
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Annalise Raziq [email protected] is a versatile performer. She sings with her band Annalise and the Backsliders, and has told stories in many venues, including for the Moth Radio Hour and the Arab American National Museum in Dearborn, and the Palestinians Podcast. She recently played the Archangel Gabriel in Silk Road Rising's Christmas Mubarak. You can find out more about her at annaliseraziq.com |
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Anne McNamee Keels [email protected]
is the descendant of a bunch of Irish and Polish immigrants who made their new homes on the south side of Chicago. Anne is a storyteller, a facilitator, a podcaster, and the former reigning Wrightwood Irish Princess of Chicago’s South Side Irish Parade (5-7 year-old division). She is the co-host and producer of Lapsed, a podcast about growing up Catholic, and she serves as a founding board member and facilitator for Race Conscious Dialogues, an Oak Park-based antiracism organization. Anne lives in Oak Park with her husband, two cute kiddos, and two very furry dogs. |
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Anne Shimojima [email protected]
has been telling stories from her Asian heritage and around the world for forty years at festivals, schools, libraries, senior communities, and lately, on Zoom. She was a featured teller at the National Storytelling Festival in 2017 and has twice been a Teller-in-Residence at the International Storytelling Center in Tennessee. Anne has performed her family’s World War II Story in Japan at the invitation of the Japanese government and you can hear some of her favorite Japanese folk tales on her award-winning CD, Sakura Tales: Stories from Japan. |
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Archy Jamjun
(he/him) email: [email protected] is a Thai-American storyteller and writer from Chicago. He is the curator of Outspoken lgbtq Stories at Sidetrack and has worked with Story Jam. He was won the Moth Grand Slam twice and been featured on the Risk! Podcast. He writing has been published by The Rumpus, Barrel House, and The Coachella Review. |
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Arlen Parsa [email protected] https://arlenparsa.com/
Arlen Parsa is a filmmaker known for his award-winning documentaries broadcast on Chicago PBS and screened at film festivals across the country. When he’s not working on his own films, he directs, produces, edits, and provides archival research services for other filmmakers and private clients. From time to time he also consults for nonprofit organizations, builds websites that attract millions of hits, and occasionally causes a splash online with his analysis of current events. |
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Beatriz Badikian-Gartler (she / her ) email: [email protected]
was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and has lived in the Chicago area for over forty years. Badikian-Gartler holds a Ph.D. in English from the University of Illinois at Chicago and teaches at various institutions of higher learning in Chicago. Her second full length collection, Mapmaker Revisited: New and Selected Poems, was published in 1999 from Gladsome Books in Chicago. Her first novel Old Gloves – A 20th Century Saga was published in 2005 by Fractal Edge Press in Chicago. She’s a recent member of the storytelling community of Chicago and enjoying it greatly. Check out her blog: gartlerwritingstudio.blogspot.com Author of Old Gloves: A 20th Century Saga Take a look at her website: bbgartler.com. |
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Bettina Zachariah Treviranus
[email protected] is obsessed with and has a deep love of stories that began when she learned how to read. By trade she’s a television assistant editor and producer. By night, she’s a devoted daughter, wife, mother, and friend. Bettina believes that stories are what humanize us, teaches us, strengthens us, and connects us. She’s deeply honored to be here and share her experiences. |
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Claudia urbano [email protected] is originally from Peru. She has appeared in productions in film, television, opera, and ballet. She has also been part of Peruvian, Brazilian and Ecuadorian dance groups. This is her second time participating in Destinos, and she is excited to showcase her storytelling skills. |
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Coya Paz Brownrigg [email protected] is an Associate Professor in the Theatre School at DePaul University, and the Artistic Director of the historic Free Street Theater in Chicago. She is a writer, theater director, educator and public speaker who believes in the power of performance to build community towards social. |
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David Quach (He/him) Email: [email protected]
David was born and raised in Sydney, Australia and moved to Chicago in 2010. He has told his personal stories on stages across Chicago, including at the Moth, 80 Minutes Around The World, StoryClub South Side, Back Room Stories, First Person Live, A Book That Changed Your Life, Soul Stories Live, and Stand & Deliver. During the day, David is a number crunching data scientist. In his spare time he runs, plays in the Chicago netball league, reads nonfiction books and listens to podcasts. He is also a graduate of the improv programs at iO and The Second City. You can follow David on Instagram or Twitter: @QuachDavid. |
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Douglas Wilson (he/him/they) email: [email protected]
his upbringing as a feminine gay boy in a small town in Texas did not prepare him for all the cultures, he has encountered. Regardless of how many people meet from different cultures, he has met, he is still amaze by the power of the stories we all create in our journey together. Douglas is open to sharing more of his experiences as an ESL teacher over the past 32 years. He lived in Japan for three years, traveled to more than 20 countries, taught in Latinx and Vietnamese immigrant schools in Dallas, and now teaches English to students from more than 25 countries in the North Shore of Chicago. |
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Eliana La Casa [email protected]
is a bilingual Argentinean stand up comedian. She has been featured on Comedy Central Latinoamerica, as well as BBC Radio 4 London’s “Welcome to Wherever You Are” She was voted Best Stand Up Comedian of 2021 by the Chicago Reader. She moved to the US in 2021 and has since fallen in love with Storytelling. She loves testing people's understanding of context by pronouncing “voting” and “boating” exactly the same. On purpose. She could totally pronounce them correctly. JAJA. Sorry, she means haha. |
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Elizabeth Cambridge
[email protected] Elizabeth is an avid day dreamer and storyteller from Cleveland, Ohio. She’s hosted and told stories all around the city including the Moth, The Stoop, This Much is True and Story Sessions. She also hosts a storytelling open mic in Rogers Park and hosts a podcast named Random Conversations with Elizabeth and recently started a talk show in her living room called Weirdos Welcome. |
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Elizabeth Gomez [email protected]
is a Korean Puerto Rican queer middle-aged lady, writer, storyteller, podcaster, and founder of The Windy City Rollers, Chicago’s first all-female roller derby league. Her soon to be released podcast is called Don't Ruin This for Me, where Elizabeth and her BFF revisit old movies they loved as children that set them up for disappointment as adults. She also has a newsletter called Mixed Race Tape on Substack where she discusses all her current obsessions like riding her bicycle 104 miles in one day just this last week! |
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Emily Navarro [email protected] is a sociology professor at Elmhurst University, where she teaches classes on migration, race, and gender. Throughout her career, she has worked on migration issues in various capacities, including as an English-teacher in rural migrant camps, a case manager for a refugee resettlement program, and a researcher who focuses on unaccompanied immigrant youth. She is the author of the book Unaccompanied: The Plight of Immigrant Youth at the Border with NYU Press.
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Fran Locks
[email protected] Born in England 1944. Went to Nigeria after college to teach for British version of the Peace Corps. Lived and worked in London in teaching and social work. Came to Chicago in 1975. Worked as a paralegal in her husband's solo law practice. Has 2 sons and 4 grandchildren. |
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George Odendo [email protected]
is an East African immigrant from Kenya who became a U.S citizen just last year. George moved to Chicago from Cincinnati, Ohio two years ago. He was humbled beyond belief when Cincinnati’s City council named September 16, 2020 “George Odendo Day” for his efforts in taking matters into his own hands to clean the downtown Pendleton neighborhood where he lived and encourage others to do the same in their neighborhoods. That was just one of the ways George wanted to give back to a country that allowed him in and gave him permanent residence status. and myself |
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Imran Mohammad Fazal Hoque (he/him/his) email: [email protected]
Imran is a stateless Rohingya refugee from Myanmar. Seeking safety, he endured several boat journeys and seven years in detention centers. During his five years in exile in Australia’s offshore detention center on Manus Island, Papua New Guinea, he taught himself to speak and write in English. He is a college student, human rights activist, and express his activism through writing. While continuing his studies in college, he has been deeply involved in creating awareness of refugees, asylum seekers, and immigrant’s lives. Everyone deserves an education and a place of safety. |
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Jaime de Leon
email: [email protected] 773 447-0776 twitter: @jdleonjaime facebook: Jaime de Leon IG: @lionslenz Jaime de Leon is a Chicago based stand up comedian, and story teller, who has won a Moth Story Slam. He has also performed in Spanish in Mexico and has produced all-Spanish shows here at home. Jaime runs an independent stand up comedy show in Pilsen called Pilsen Stand Up and performs at Zanies, The Comedy Bar, The Laugh Factory and other independent shows throughout the city. |
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JAMES R. PETERSEN
[email protected] as the sex editor for Playboy magazine for almost 40 years. He likes to say he wrote about sex when sex was new, when it was something you did in person. Now retired, he gets his breaking news from the History Channel. He discovered live storytelling last year and has since performed at more than a dozen Moth StorySLAMs, as well as in bars, backrooms, coffee shops, art centers, armories, and someplace in Milwaukee, some of which were actually hosting story events. He says that he will never again write for print. Paper doesn't listen, laugh, gasp, or fall asleep. |
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Jasmin Cardenas
[email protected] https://www.jasmincardenas.com/ Born to Colombian immigrants, Jasmin has always lived between worlds being told she's not fully American in the U.S. and a gringa in South America. Jasmin was awarded a 2020-2022 LAB Fellowship from Georgetown University's Laboratory for Global Performance & Politics for her work harnessing the power of art into action. This Chicagoan cares about her comunidad & world and pursues artistic and community work that makes concrete changes today while simultaneously changing hearts over time. |
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Jitesh Jaggi (he/him) email: [email protected]
is a recent immigrant from India, currently living in Chicago. He ended his career in finance one day when he lost all the data he forgot to save on an Excel sheet and realized he just didn't care. That tipping point led him to become a writer, and he is currently working on a book of essays. A two-time Moth StorySlam winner and a producer for the Story Collider, he also coaches individual and corporate clients in telling their stories. He loves writing his own bios because he can refer to himself in the third person. Jitesh can be easily bribed with books and chocolates. |
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Jessi Realz [email protected]
(she/her) is a Chicago based comedian, actor, writer, director, and producer. Born and raised in Mexico City, Jessi uses her rich Mexican background as a source for inspiration when creating characters, stories, stand up, and original sketch and web pieces. Jessi is the co-founder and artistic creative force behind Las Tinas, Ratas de Dos Patas, and Tus Tías. Las Tinas has been featured in Telemundo and the Chicago Tribune. Ratas de Dos Patas has been featured in TimeOut Chicago and won ALTA’s 2019 Outstanding Improv Ensemble. And Tus Tías were selected to be 2022 Latinx Theater Commons Comedy Carnaval featured artists. Jessi has produced variety comedy shows all over Chicago that focus on highlighting BIPOC, LBGTQIA+, disabled, and underrepresented artists. Jessi believes that building shows for minority and diverse talent is important for the growth and advancement of art as a whole. |
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Jose Dominguez Magdaleno / Paloma josedominguezmagdaleno@
(They/He/El) is a multi-disciplinary Chicago based artist, educator, and facilitator from New Jersey. Jose’s passion lies within the intersection of art, education, and activism to explore themes and topics of race, ethnicity, queerness, and (dis)abilities. His work resonates his own identity as a queer, visually impaired, Mexican-American/Latinx person (the order varies depending on the day). They’re a freelance teaching artists working for Creative Root in The Theatre School and Northlight Theatre Company. They’re also drag artists. Jose holds a double major in BFA Theatre Arts and BA Latin American and Latino Studies from DePaul University. |
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JULIA STOYANOVA
[email protected] Julia graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Acting for Puppet Theatre from the National Academy of Theater & Film Arts in Sofia, Bulgaria, the most prestigious theatre college in Bulgaria and the Balkans. She has been in numerous drama and puppet plays in her native country. In 2016, Julia moved to the US and began her journey as an actress, improviser, and stand-up comedian. She is also an improv and sketch comedy teacher for children and adults. Julia recently graduated from The Conservatory of Second City and became a proud member of Rose Valley Theater Group. |
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Julia Suacillo
Email: [email protected] is a student at DePaul University studying psychology. She has always had a love for performing and the art of storytelling ever since she was a young child. Julia has performed with 80 Minutes Around the World in the past, and hopes to continue to share her stories in the future. She wants to inspire young people around Chicago to share their own stories, in hopes to connect people of all walks of life. |
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John Hahm [email protected] is happy and proud to have taught English at Northside College Preparatory High School in Chicago, since its founding. While there he also coached the Academic Decathlon team, and led educational tours to Europe over the spring breaks. He is retired, and devotes his time to writing, storytelling, and tango |
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Jose Rico (he/him/el) email: [email protected] a Chicagoan by way of Mexico , JJosé Antonio Rico is a community leader and educator from Chicago. He is the Senior Vice President of Community Investment for United Way of Metropolitan Chicago, which invests in initiatives to advance human services and improve the lives of individuals and entire neighborhoods.
He is also the former Executive Director of the Obama Administration’s White House Initiative On Educational Excellence For Hispanics and was the founding high school principal of Multicultural Arts School, a Chicago Public School serving the families in Little Village and North Lawndale with a focus on social justice and arts integration. Rico weaves together extensive education and public policy experience with an intimate knowledge of people across class and cultural lines. He brings his experience as an immigrant, teacher and father who is deeply committed to building community, racial equity and empathy in all his endeavors. find out more about Jose Rico at JoseRico.org |
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Karla Estela Rivera (she/her) [email protected]
Karla is a writer, performer, activist, and arts advocate that has leveraged her gift of storytelling to uplift and create opportunities for, with, and in underserved communities. She is the Executive Director of the historic Free Street Theater and a company member of 2nd Story in Chicago. In addition to her artistic work, Karla has served in non-profit organizations for over a decade, beginning as a teaching artist and youth worker, to systems-level leadership in public affairs. Most recently she served as the co-chair of the Illinois Fine Arts Indicator work group which developed the nation’s first weighted accountability measure for the arts as part of the Illinois Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) plan. |
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Klaas Folkern [email protected] Klaas grew up in eastern Finland during the cold war, just next to the Iron Curtain. Ever since he was five he would gaze west into the sun set. At 16 He packed his bags and ran off with a Circus. 20 years later he emigrated to the United States. Klaas holds a passion for the adventure and loves learning from experience. |
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Kristen Bernardi Rader https://kristenrader.com/ a journalist, editor, linguist, and screenwriter based in Chicago. |
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Kristina Lebedeva (she/her) [email protected]
Having moved to The United States from Russia in 2000, Kristina Lebedeva dedicated most of her efforts to earning a doctorate in philosophy. As her academic work continues to explore the intersections of ethics, trauma, social justice, and disability, Kristina’s digital art, fiction, and autobiographical essays address such themes as mourning, violence, suffering, survival, and memory in a way that is both surreal and unflinchingly factual. Kristina is currently working as a language instructor, splitting her free time between writing, theater, and art. She is a volunteer for YWCA Rape & Sexual Violence Hotline. |
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Kucha Brownlee and Baba Tony Brown [email protected] This traveling dynamic storytelling duo combines their talents and experience to bring magical moments to their performances. Their programs are highly entertaining, culturally enriching, engaging and educational. Performances are enhanced by audience participation involving singing, learning, playing instruments and just lot of fun. |
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Luis Tubens (he.him) Email: [email protected]
Contact: LoganLupoetry.com @loganlupoetry on instagram Luis has performed poetry across the United States. He has toured Mexico City in 2016 and 2018 presenting his work at the acclaimed “Show Socrates MX” (2016) and the National Book Fair of Leon GTO (2018) and featured in Puerto Rico at “Poets Passage” and “Gathering of Cities” at Libros AC (2019). He represented Chicago in the 2014 and 2018 National Poetry Slam. He is the author of Stone Eagle (2017) published by Bobbin Lace Press, Chicago. Currently, Luis is the resident poet for ESSO Funk (2016 Best New Band and Best International Music Act, Chicago Reader). |
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Lupe Nunez [email protected]
is a proud husband and father, first generation Mexican-Chicagoan who makes video games by day and tells stories by night. Born and raised in Chicago, he's spent the last few years bringing his style of storytelling to many shows and venues all across the city and suburbs. Lupe is a lifelong hip hop head, former emcee, and avid record collector which influences and inspires a lot of his writing and storytelling. As life's responsibilities and obligations grew over the years, Lupe felt a lot of the creative outlets were slipping away. He's turned to storytelling to fill the void, fell in love w/ making a connection and sharing special moments w/ an audience, and never looked back. He looks forwards to growing and cultivating his storytelling as a craft and taking it to other levels and mediums |
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Lynne Jordan
[email protected] https://lynnejordan.com/ Lynne is a 3Arts Make a Wave Artist, and recipient of the African American Arts Alliance of Chicago: Outstanding Achievement in Music – Rhythm & Blues award in 2017-2018. She is currently enjoying a “Diva Residency” as an artist in residence at the Raue Center for the Performing Arts in Illinois. Lynne is presently working on two new recordings: one includes original material from Corky Siegel, Toronzo Cannon, and John Cameron Mitchell and the other is exclusively classic blues tunes from the ’20s, ’30s, and ’40s. |
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Maria Kostas
[email protected] Maria has told stories on various stages around Chicagoland. Her stories are sometimes entertaining, sometimes historical, perhaps insightful, and quite personal. She blends the past with the present as she shares impressions gathered from working with large groups of people most of her life, including work as a teacher, a business owner, a bartender, and a couple of seasons as a carnie. |
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Maritza Rangel
[email protected] (she/her/ella), first-generation recent graduate from Dominican University BA with Honors in Spanish Studies. Current intern at ICIRR. Aspiring bilingual educator in the Chicago area with a passion for social justice and advocacy work too. Mexican roots, dog mom and sushi lover. Hobbies: crochet, hammock and read, spend time with family. |
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Marko Ivanov [email protected]
is a business executive living in the western suburbs of Chicago with his wife who is a writer and their two children. With a background in Electrical Engineering and a love for math, he didn't expect he'd discover such pleasure in storytelling but admits that it's in his blood. A native of the former Yugoslavia, he grew up in a culture rich in storytelling. Early on Marko realized that listening to other people's stories and telling his own was the best way to understand people's emotions and motivations. He honed his narrative skills as he pursued better life in the United States after leaving war-torn Yugoslavia at the age of seventeen. Today, Marko's storytelling is not just limited to his business dealings. Whenever time permits, Marko likes to tell his personal story to wider audiences be it friends or strangers. |
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Olha Tsvyntarna [email protected]
was born in Khmelnytskyi, Ukraine,she used to work as an interpreter, a teacher, an office manager... But beside that, she'd always been singing jazz and Ukrainian folk music. Sometimes wrote and perform her own songs. Soon after the Russian invasion happened in 2014, she had a chance to visit the US and meet a lot of Ukrainians in Chicago, supporting Ukraine. Now that Russia increased their attacks and is ruining Ukrainian cities and villages she keep singing in fundraisers to help Ukraine. She was lucky to be safe now with her son in Chicago, where she had to flee after russians started bombing Kyiv, and when she came here wrote a song to express her feelings and thoughts of millones Ukrainians like her, to sing it and find support for my motherland. |
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Onyi Okoroafor
(he/him/his) email: [email protected]) Onyi grew up on the East Coast but is now on his 2nd stint in Chicago. Over the years, he's learned a lot from exploring the intersection of his Nigerian heritage and American upbringing. He enjoys getting to learn about people through their stories and is trying to become a better listener (you can ask his partner how he's doing!). Onyi believes in the power of being comfortable being uncomfortable and enjoys storytelling events as an opportunity to share and learn. |
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Raíces to Roots https://www.nalac.org/members/raices-to-roots/ is a multi-disciplinary production that celebrates and examines the Chicago Puerto |
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Rae Reed
[email protected] is a writer, storyteller and social worker. They have lived abroad in Honduras and believe in providing the same hospitality to immigrants that they received from Hondurans so many years ago. Rae has traveled to the Texas/Matamoros border two times teaching storytelling and English as well as providing much needed supplies. In their free time, Rae tries not to run into deer as they bike in Chicago's forest preserves. |
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Rajneesh Sehgal [email protected]
comes from the vibrant city of Mumbai in India, where he grew up and studied Computer Science. His journey took him across continents to settle in the suburbs of Chicago, where he now cherishes life with his wife and two boys. As a CTO and co-founder of a SaaS company, he thrives on the challenges of entrepreneurship. Amid a mid-life crisis, Rajneesh sank into depths of depression. Yet, he emerged more vital than ever, shedding 70 pounds and conquering not just one but two full marathons alongside eight half-marathons. Rajneesh discovered his love for storytelling in May 2024 and has won 2 Moth StorySLAMs in 4 attempts. Rajneesh hopes to inspire others to lead a mindful, intellectually curious, and healthy lifestyle by embodying the change he wishes to see. |
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Randy Kim randy@cambodianmuseum.
is a queer Southeast Asian-American, born from a father who is a Cambodian genocide survivor, and a mother, a Vietnam War survivor. These experiences have inspired Randy to explore the effects of intergenerational trauma through storytelling and writing. Currently, he serves as a board member with the National Cambodian Heritage Museum in Lincoln Square, and has done past work relating to non-profit relating to Asian American advocacy, elder care, LGBTQ, among other issues. He has performed at various storytelling showcases that includes PREACH, TenX9 Chicago, You're Being Ridiculous, Is That A Thing, Asian-American Talk Stories at the Collaboraction Theatre, and Pour One Out. |
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Rahul Sharma
[email protected] A child of immigrants, Rahul is the youngest of 4. He and his brother were born in Kalamazoo, Michigan, while his two older sisters were born in Nairobi, Kenya. He still hasn't quite forgiven his sisters for this patently unfair reality. Rahul's parents were also born in Nairobi, the children of immigrants themselves, as their parents migrated from India to Kenya in search of a sustainable living. |
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Siddharth (Sid) Shah was born and raised in Mumbai and has called Chicago home for the past five years. Sid is a planner and engineer who works to make streets safer for people walking, biking, or traveling any other way. He enjoys ice cream, biking, exploring new neighborhoods, and all those together. Some of his favorite cities are Ahmedabad, Kyoto, Vienna, and New Orleans. |
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Sonal Aggarwal
[email protected] Former international street performer turned emcee, Sonal Aggarwal has brought her talents to Chicago as an actor, comedian, producer and movement artist. Her one woman show The Alchemy of Bliss played for a sold out weekend at Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theater and you can see her on Netflix’s Easy as well as the short A Period Piece which debuted at SXSW 2020. She is a regular host of the Moth. |
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Stephanie Douglass [email protected] is a performer, farmer, writer, and trainer. She is a Moth GrandSLAM Champion, cofounder of the New York Theatre Company the TEAM, and was the head writer for OLN's "Outside Magazine's Ultimate Top Ten.” She hosts Story Club North Side and cohosts the Englewood Storytelling Open Mic at Kusanya Cafe. Stephanie is grateful to serve as the Associate Director of the Greater West Town Community Development Project, helping Chicago’s students to complete high school and serving adults with barriers to employment. She has worked as the Farm Enterprise Director at Growing Home and is a co-founder of Cyahafi (Cha-HA-fi) Blooms, a resource training collective in southwestern Uganda.
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Tim O'Connor [email protected] grew up in County Kerry Ireland. He works in IT here in Chicago and lives in Logan Square with his wife Kate and their dog Seamus. |
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Tim Schreiber [email protected]
For Tim's first mid-life crisis, he got married and had kids. After studying English, Journalism, German, Linguistics, Education, and Library Science, he was a professional librarian for 13 years until he gave all of that up to stay home with his two young children. In addition to hearing and telling stories, his hobbies include playing tennis, reading long history books, and creating spreadsheets for his solar panels. Tim discovered storytelling in front of a live audience in 2018, when he finished in second place at two StorySlam shows in a row, caught the storytelling bug, and got involved in many storytelling events around Chicagoland |
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Timothy David Rey
(he/his/hum) email: [email protected] Timothy David Rey is a longtime Chicago-based queer-African-American writer/ performer. His work has been seen and heard around Illinois and out of state. His book of poetry and solo performance, Little Victories, was published in 2012 by NewTown Writers Press. FOLLOW TIMOTHY ON: Instagram Photo Credit: Kris Krajewski |
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Valee Kathy Ying Kittikamron [email protected]
Born in Bangkok, immigated to Chicago at the age of 8, she has straddled many worlds. Dubbed herself as “the luckiest person ever” - she has managed to set foot on all continents except for Antartica by the time she was 25. Meeting her nomadic partner along the way, she is now a full-time, proud Mama of two kids. As they have become proficient at packing and carrying their own, she is excited to plot their next around-the-world adventure together… while continuing to help folks build wealth through Real Estate. |
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Varya Bazalev
(She, Her, Hers) email: [email protected] Varya Bazalev is an undergraduate student at DePaul University, studying Public Relations, Psychology, and Photography. As a daughter of Russian immigrants, but born in the United States, Varya has learned the power of listening to bridge the cultural gaps, even within family. With a father who is a pastor, and a mother who is a seamstress, Varya grew up in a dynamic and faith filled environment. She is still finding the balance of making her faith, culture, and art her own. |
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Virginia Martinez (she/her/ella) email: [email protected]
In 1975, Virginia, along with Viola Armijo Rouse, became the first Latinas to be licensed to practice law in Illinois. Virginia has spent most of her career working in non-profit organizations and has been a strong advocate for Latinos, women and children. She also served as Executive Director of Mujeres Latinas en Accion and Director of the UIC International Center for Health Leadership Development. She now spends time with her toddler grandson and is writing a children’s book on their experiences. She hopes that the bilingual book will encourage other caregivers and families to explore the numerous institutional resources available to families in Chicago. She herself was taken to museums, zoos and parks adding to her education as a young child. |
CALIFORNIA
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Cara Lopez Lee email: [email protected]
Cara Lopez Lee is the author of the memoir They Only Eat Their Husbands and a winner of the Moth StorySLAM. She shares her stories in many shows, such as Unheard L.A., Strong Words, and Storytellers Project, as well as such publications as Los Angeles Times, Manifest-Station, and Writing for Peace. She and her husband live in Ventura, California where they enjoy tending their Certified Wildlife Habitat full of hummingbirds. For more on Cara’s stories and adventures, check out: www.CaraLopezLee.com. |
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Frank Traynor email: [email protected]
was born and raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He is a musician, a comedic storyteller, and a copywriter who hates the Oxford comma. He won two Story SLAMs at the Moth and has a comedy half hour on YouTube with almost half a million views, but it's in Spanish with no English subtitles. He recently got his Green Card so now you can't get rid of him. Eventually, he will be survived by his wife, daughter, son and three cats–although one of the cats might die first. |
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Mae Flores email : [email protected]
𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐅𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐚-𝐀𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐫, 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐥𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐥-𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐞. As a survivor of sexual assaults, Mae has turned her adversity into power and has won various global humanitarian service awards and commendations for her fervent efforts from the likes of 𝐄𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐀𝐢𝐝, 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝗪𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧, the 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬, 𝐋𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐂𝐥𝐮𝐛𝐬 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥, 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬 & the 𝗪𝐍𝐁𝐀 for the work she does to advocate for those who have survived sexual violence around the globe. Mae is a producer of various projects that focus on storytelling and healing like the podcast, ‘𝐒𝐨,𝐓𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐌𝐞 𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐃𝐚𝐝’ and her online show about survival, ‘𝐈’𝐦 𝐒𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞: 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐮𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐥 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐅𝐨𝐥𝐤𝐬 𝐋𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐘𝐨𝐮 & 𝐌𝐞. Mae is a mom to two fantastic young men and a proud partner to John Morris Ross IV, stand-up comic and online marketing guru. |
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Minita Gandhi (she/they)
https://www.minitagandhi.com/ is a playwright/librettist/healer and multi-hyphenate who was born in Mumbai, India. She currently resides in Los Angeles but has strong roots in Chicago and the Bay Area. Gandhi is most known for their critically acclaimed solo-show, Muthaland. Muthaland received Jeff nominations for best new work and best solo performance |
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Miyo Yamauchi
(she/her) [email protected] Miyo Yamauchi writes narratives for computers during the daytime as a programmer. When she’s not coding, she writes stories for human beings. She enjoys sharing her unique personal stories through her peculiar perspectives and regularly performs at the Fanatic Salon Theater, Strong Words, StoryMasters, and other spoken words events. |
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Spencer Frankeberger
he/him/his email: [email protected] is an actor, award-winning director, improviser, and 2nd generation Greek-American. He is a graduate of iO West, Second City, UCB, and CSz. Aside from entertainment, he is also a board-certified music therapist. He is currently writing his 4th musical, producing a family-friendly show called Not Muppet Classic Theater, and online educational improv interview series called The Improv Summit, and created and co-hosts a theme park podcast called Theoretical Thrills as he is a huge theme park enthusiast and also works at one (as a tour guide on the World Famous Studio Tour at Universal Studios Hollywood). |
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Vicki Juditz
email: [email protected] has performed her original stories at theaters and festivals across the country, including the National Storytelling Festival in TN and the Aspen LAFF Festival. Her story "Swing Dancing" aired on the Moth Radio Hour. |
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DETROIT
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Shannon Cason https://www.shannoncason.com/
Shannon Cason has shared his stories all over the country. Shannon is a host, MainStage storyteller, and GrandSlam champion with The Moth. He is a regular on Snap Judgment; awarded their Best Performance Award. Shannon has appeared on countless podcasts and storytelling stages, including TEDx, RISK!, Third Coast Festival, Podcast Movement, and upcoming film projects. He hosts his own long-running storytelling podcast, Shannon Cason’s Homemade Stories. Shannon also hosted two other podcasts -The Trouble with Shannon Cason (WBEZ) & In Good Company Detroit. His storytelling has been featured in the anthology, The Moth Presents: All These Wonders. Shannon educates and consults on storytelling using his Brutally Honest Storytelling techniques, and he has helped companies, nonprofits, pro athletes, celebrities, and everyday people tell their stories more honestly. Shannon is originally from Detroit. |
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Ted Olds [email protected] is the proud grandson of the Cricellis, who fled extreme poverty to come to the U.S. He is a storyteller who has won the Moth slams several times, and in many cities. |
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NEW YORK
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Abeer Hoque
(she/her/hers) email: [email protected] is a Nigerian-born Bangladeshi American writer and photographer. She is the author of a coffee table book of travel photography and poems (The Long Way Home, 2013), a linked collection of stories, photographs, and poems (The Lovers and the Leavers, 2015), and a memoir (Olive Witch, 2017). See more at olivewitch.com. |
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Annie Tan (she / her) email: [email protected]
is a special education teacher, storyteller, writer, speaker, and activist based in New York City. Annie's work focuses on being Asian American, a child of immigrants, teaching, teachers unions and public education, and organizing for a better world. Annie's work has been featured in The New York Times, Huffington Post, The New Republic, PBS’ Asian Americans, and twice on The Moth Radio Hour. Annie is working on her first book, a memoir, and hopes one day to write an epic book about her family and Asian American history. You can find Annie on Twitter and Instagram at @annietangent and on her website annietan.com. |
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David Hu (he/him) email: [email protected]
David is Bronx Bred Storyteller based in Brooklyn. After taking a Storytelling class back in 2013. David became immersed in the craft. It gave him a new perspective of the world. His comedic timing and endearing personality, have captivated audiences throughout the city. David’s stories have been featured on the hit podcast Risk! During the day. David is a Technology Advisor and Instructor. He educates people about Technology through Storytelling. You can follow David on Instagram @davehu718 |
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Edith Gonzalez
(she/her) email: [email protected] is a native Nuyorican, with four graduate degrees in various subfields of anthropology. She has performed on such shows as The Story Collider, Risk!, and is a two-time Smut Slam champion. She is a fan of time-travel, LoTR, and is known among her friends as the Puertorican Mr. Spock. Follow her in instagram (IG: egon.the.great): |
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Michele Carlo
(she/her) email: [email protected] Michele has told stories across the U.S., including the Moth’s Mainstage in NYC, 80 Minutes Around the World’s and RISK!’s live shows and podcasts, on NPR and the WGBH-PBS series “Stories from the Stage.” She is also a podcast host, actress and author of the NYC-set memoir "Fish Out Of Agua." www.michelecarlo.com |
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Nicole Maxali (she/her) email: [email protected]
is a San Francisco based producer, writer, actor, filmmaker. She began acting in other people’s scripts at Bindlestiff Studio, the only Filipino-American Theater in the nation. During her years as a stand-up comedian, Nicole had the honor to open for comic genius Dave Chappelle a dozen times at the San Francisco Punchline and The New Parish in Oakland, California. Nicole Maxali then began writing, producing and performing solo shows under the tutelage of W. Kamau Bell. Under the direction of Paul Stein at Comedy Central Theater, Nicole developed her full-length show, “Forgetting the Details”. She has toured her one woman show across the country from Harvard University to The Public Theater in NYC. Nicole Maxali has performed improv at Magnet Theater and wrote sketch comedy at UCB Theater, she also stars on the international comedic industrial sitcom “Make it Big” and debuted “Forgetting the Details” at the International New York Fringe Festival with sold out shows, standing ovations and more rave reviews. www.NicoleMaxali.com “Nicole is funny, heartwarming and funny again. Her writing is comedic gold.” - Dave Chappelle |
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Srilatha Rajamani
(She, her) email : [email protected] Srilatha Rajamani is a New York based queer comedian and story teller. She started performing in Boston 4 years ago. Her stories are about her life and its absurdities and joys an immigrant woman living in America. She has been featured in WGBH TV’s Stories from the Stage, KPFK Radio LA’s Stonewall- Stories of Pride, and in National Storytelling Festival 2020 representing Mid Atlantic Region. Instagram: HTTPS://www.instagram.com/SrilathaSauce |
WISCONSIN
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Charles Payne, M. Ed
( he/ him/ his ) email address: [email protected] is a Madison (WI) transplant, a certified teacher, and a self-taught spoken word artist from Michigan. His work explores personal narrative and social commentary. He is the firstborn of a strict father and naïve mother. As a child, he loved hearing the sound of Paul Harvey's voice, whose innate ability to describe every intricate detail truly inspired Charles to tell stories himself. And yes, he can't wait to give you the rest of the story. |
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Dennis Oulahan [email protected] is a retired teacher. He and his wife, Anne, live in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He has been telling stories all of his life. Some true. Some not so much. He started telling stories on stages in 2016. Now he sticks to the true ones. |
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Jennifer S. Esperanza (she/her) Email: [email protected]
Jennifer is the daughter of Filipino immigrants and was born in California. She was raised mostly by her undocumented grandmother, and has shared her story live on The Moth, Inside Stories Podcast and 80 Minutes Around the World. She received her Ph.D. in anthropology from UCLA and had a 17 year career as a university/college professor. Upon leaving academia, she took on the role as Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for a consulting firm that improves financial services for minority populations, immigrants, refugees, and other underserved groups. Jennifer's stories range from the humorous to the sobering-- on being multilingual; watching an obscene amount of TV while growing up, living in Germany as a exchange student; and finding resilience in unexpected places. |
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OTHER STATES
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Buki Omoseni email: [email protected]
Was born in London, UK but grew up in Lagos, Nigeria with her parents, sister and extended family. She left home at 21 after college with 200 pounds (roughly $300) in her pocket, a change of clothes and nowhere to live. Since then she has lived on two continents, moved far too many times for her liking but have encountered people of various origins & color who've extended grace to her and her family. She’s married to her spouse of 25 years and together they have two daughters ( 21 & 16 years old). Career-wise, She previously worked as an IT/informatics specialist but has since found her calling in supporting healing through spiritual care of people at vulnerable times in their lives |
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Kory May
[email protected] is a podcaster, professional storyteller and coach, improv comic and native Iowan. He lives by the motto: Live an adventurous life and you won’t be bored. Tell adventurous stories and those around you won’t be bored. Life is good and the stories are only getting better. |
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Nimisha Ladva (she/her) email: [email protected]
is a writer and storyteller. Her stories have been broadcast nationally on NPR on The Moth Radio Hour and other programs, and on PBS in Stories from the Stage. She has performed internationally in Geneva and at the London Podcast Festival with RISK!. She is a Moth GrandSlam winner, a Moth Mainstage performer, and was twice dubbed the “Best of the Best Storytellers in Philadelphia” by First Person Arts (2016, 2020). Her play, Uninvited Girl, first staged in Philadelphia at the First Person Arts Festival in 2016, had it's New York city premier at the Women in Theater Festival in 2018. She is currently at work on a screen adaptation of Uninvited. She teaches writing and public speaking at Haverford College and is a sought after workshop leader and public speaker. |
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Svetlana Binshtok [email protected] Svetlana was born in the Soviet Union, what is now Ukraine, and came to the U.S. as a refugee in 1990. She is a creative and freelance writer who got her start in live storytelling by studying at The Second City. |
LATIN AMERICA
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Franco Catalano (he/him)
email: [email protected] is an Argentinian native coming to Chicago to fulfill his lifelong dream of working for an IT company in the Loop. He is also the founder of the only storytelling show in Argentina, coaching over 60 storytellers from 2019 to 2021. Before leaving Argentina, Franco released his solo show called "WIR - Work in Regress" in which he delved into stories of his past. In his free time, he loves playing any types of games, be it video, board or roleplaying. |
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Valentina Ortiz email: [email protected]
Valentina represents the Mexican arts with her stories, books and music. As a storyteller she has travelled many countries since the year 2000, taking the ancient and new words of her country to the young and old. As a musician, she has played Latin and Mexican grooves since 1992, in different popular bands. She has been teaching for over 20 years in various set ups, from elementary schools to creative aging, in community centers as well as in top universities. Since 2007, she is the founder and director of nonprofit Zazanilli Cuentos A.C., dedicated to taking healing stories to communities in need. She has published 4 books and produced 4 records with her work. |
