Storylinking

Building authentic community engagement, with insights from across the Storylinking community With this episode of Storylinking, we're trying something a little different. Instead of a one-on-one interview, I've pulled together responses from four generous members of the Storylinking community: Matt Penniman, a writer and community advocate; Cecilia Sepp, a longtime association and nonprofit leade...

Stories are the pulse of community: how we find each other, share experiences, and build meaning together. In this episode, I'm responding to a question that came in from friend of the show Katherine Lacefield, a nonprofit consultant with deep experience in fundraising and community engagement. Katherine asked how organizations can go about collecting stories from their community as a way to build...

I had the privilege of sitting down with Mónica Guzmán back in January of 20260 for this episode of Storylinking . Mónica is the Senior Fellow for Public Practice at Braver Angels, the author of " I Never Thought of It That Way ," and the host of the podcast " A Braver Way ." She's someone I deeply admire for her ability to lean into curiosity and use it as a tool for building trust and understand...

The First 5 Minutes: Making Room for Real Conversation, with Linn Vizard Most of us have been in a meeting that stayed shallow. We might have had the right people in the room, but the conversation never got there. Linn Vizard argues that what's usually missing isn't the agenda or the expertise, it's a few minutes of personal context (right at the start) that could have made everyone feel safe enou...

Seeing Each Other: Photovoice as a Bridge, with Roman Williams I've been part of a lot of facilitated conversations over the years. But I'm not sure I've ever felt so quickly connected to a group of strangers as I did in the 90 minutes I spent in a Photovoice session with Roman Williams' team. Something opened up in that room (or Zoom) that doesn't usually happen so fast. This episode is my attemp...

How to Design Interpersonal Infrastructure in Your Community Connection is often thought of as a personal responsibility, something each of us has to figure out on our own. Aaron Hurst thinks that framing is part of the problem. As founder of the U.S. Chamber of Connection, he's building an organization that seeks to tackle the problem of loneliness in a truly unique way: treating connection not a...

Creating a Feeling of Belonging in Your Member Community Most membership organizations find reasonable ways to deliver value. They build programs, create resources, and articulate what members get in return for their time and dues. Amanda Lea Kaiser argues that's only half of what creates engagement. The other half (the part that's often missing) is experience: how it feels to be part of the commu...

How Consistent Content Creation Builds Clarity, Trust, and Community There aren't many emails I'll open at 6:30am, but Jonathan Stark's daily message is one of them. For nearly a decade, he's been showing up in my inbox with ideas about building value, finding focus, and creating sustainable creative practice. What started for Jonathan as a daily writing habit has grown into something much bigger:...

Building authentic community engagement, with insights from across the Storylinking community With this episode of Storylinking, we're trying something a little different. Instead of a one-on-one interview, I've pulled together responses from four generous members of the Storylinking community: Matt Penniman, a writer and community advocate; Cecilia Sepp, a longtime association and nonprofit leade...

With this episode of Storylinking, we're trying something new! Instead of the usual one-on-one conversation, I'm sharing a panel discussion from a recent event called The Future is Now, where I had the opportunity to speak alongside journalist Tyler Sonnamaker. The conversation was moderated by Jane Bunch from Revalue, a values-based investment advisory firm. Together, we explore how news and stor...

This episode features Cecilia Wandiga, Executive Director of the Centre for Science and Technology Innovations (CSTI) in Nairobi, Kenya. Cecilia's work brings science and storytelling together in a way that makes complex research practical and relevant for communities facing environmental and climate challenges. In our conversation, we explore how science connects our stories, grounding them in kn...

I had the privilege of sitting down with Mónica Guzmán for this episode of Storylinking . Mónica is the Senior Fellow for Public Practice at Braver Angels, the author of " I Never Thought of It That Way ," and the host of the podcast " A Braver Way ." She's someone I deeply admire for her ability to lean into curiosity and use it as a tool for building trust and understanding across political and...

How theater can create space for meaningful dialogue, build community trust, and inspire engagement among diverse audiences In this episode of Storylinking, Chad Swan-Badgero (founder and artistic director of Peppermint Creek Theatre and program manager for the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs) joins host Tom Lietz for a conversation about how theater creates space for communities to...

How AI can elevate human creativity and community engagement In this episode of Storylinking, musician/developer/founder/creator David Norris and host Tom Lietz  talk about how generative AI is transforming creativity and community engagement. They discuss practical ways to integrate new AI-based approaches while staying human-centered, balancing innovation with ethical considerations, and using n...

Harnessing Co-Creation for Aligned Impact in Healthcare and Beyond, with Workomics founder Susan Bartlett   In this episode of Storylinking , Susan Bartlett, co-founder of Workomics, joins host Tom Lietz to explore the transformative power of co-creative practices in breaking down organizational silos and building alignment across diverse teams. Susan shares how her work bridges internal and exter...

Understanding how the Trust + Engagement Cycle can Enhance Collaboration in Communities and Organizations In this episode of  Storylinking , Jody Horntvedt and Eriks Dunens join us to share insights on trust, engagement, and the relationship between both as we build thriving communities. Drawing on their extensive experience as applied researchers, extension educators, and community builders, they...

In this episode of Storylinking , Rich Green (Commercial Director at Madgex) and host Tom Lietz dive into the results of the 2024 Wiley Society Member Survey. Together, they unpack the survey's findings on career development within associations, highlighting a pressing issue: the gap between members' expectations for career advancement and the support they actually receive. Rich, an innovator in j...

How community builders can respond to political polarization In this episode of  Storylinking , counseling psychology professor and author Dr. Tania Israel shares her journey of bringing people together across deep political divides. Dr. Israel discusses growing challenges of political polarization and introduces practical, research-based strategies for fostering understanding and connection in di...

How Authentic Stories Drive Collaboration, Compassion, and Sustainable Impact in Nonprofits In this episode of Storylinking , nonprofit leader and philanthropy consultant Katherine Lacefield shares her journey of using storytelling as a powerful tool to build inclusive communities. Katherine dives deep into the importance of shifting from competition to collaboration in the nonprofit world, offeri...

Strategic Community Building and Leadership with James Young: Balancing People and Product for Long-Term Impact In this episode of Storylinking, host Tom Lietz speaks with James Young, an expert in strategic community building and product-centered design. Drawing from his extensive work with The Product Community, Jim provides a fresh look at how organizations can navigate the shift from tradition...

Uniting Art and Conservation: The Mates for Life Journey with Filmmaker Tim Whalen In this episode of Storylinking, filmmaker Tim Whalen joins host Tom Lietz to discuss his innovative project, Mates for Life , a unique collaboration between the Joffrey Ballet, choreographer Xavi Núñez, and the International Crane Foundation. Together, they've created a powerful film that tells the inspiring comeba...

How Co-Creative, Inclusive, and Strategic Storytelling Can Build Stronger Communities and Drive Collective Impact Hi, I'm Tom Lietz, and welcome to  Storylinking . In this introductory episode, I share my perspective on storytelling and why I believe we're often doing it wrong when it comes to building communities. For over two decades, I've worked as a video producer and creative director, helpin...