Just some of the amazing humans bringing the New Story Festival to life...
board of directors & Festival Co-Hosts
Gareth Higgins
CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Gareth Higgins (Asheville, NC) was born in Belfast in 1975, grew up during the northern Ireland Troubles, and now lives in North Carolina with his husband Brian. He writes and speaks about connection to the earth, cinema and the power of dreams, peace and making justice, and how to take life seriously without believing your own propaganda. He co-founded the Wild Goose Festival, Movies & Meaning, and The Porch Magazine, and is happy to be a work in progress. Connect with more of his work at www.garethhiggins.net.
Mike Clawson
FESTIVAL PRODUCER
Mike Clawson (Austin, TX), is founder of the Spiritual Transformation Project, working to create transformative events at the intersection of spirituality and social change - including the New Story! He also serves as the Social Impact Coordinator for Compassionate Austin, a branch of the global Charter for Compassion movement. Mike recently completed his PhD at Baylor University studying the ways religion and spirituality are evolving in the twenty-first century. He is passionate about personal growth and collective liberation. He enjoys exploring Austin and watching sci-fi films with his two kids.
MICKY SCOTTBEY JONES
FESTIVAL MC
Micky ScottBey Jones, the Justice Doula, is a mama-activist-contemplative-healer-holy-disrupter who believes in throwing parties as a key revolutionary strategy. She loves bringing people together to explore brave space, awaken empathy and fight oppression. Micky is the Director of Healing Justice with Faith Matters Network and is a core team member with The People’s Supper who has gathered more than 4,000 people around tables since the 2016 election for bridging and healing conversations. She has recently launched the Daring Compassion: Movement Chaplaincy project, offering spiritual care for activists engaged in front-lines social change.
NEW STORY ADVISORY COUNCIL
alexia salvatierra
Co-author of Faith-Rooted Organizing: Mobilizing the Church in Service to the World, Lutheran Pastor with 40 years of experience in community ministry (community development, organizing, advocacy), Affiliate Professor Fuller Theological Seminary and Adjunct Professor (four other institutions.) Co-founder New Sanctuary Movement, Evangelical Immigration Table, Guardian Angels Project and M25 (Matthew 25/Mateo 25). Alexia was a member of the founding Vision Team for the New Story Festival and was a headline speaker at the inaugural 2019 New Story Festival.
BRIAN MCLAREN
Brian is an author, speaker, activist and public theologian. He is an Auburn Senior Fellow and leader in the Convergence Network, through which he is developing the Convergence Leadership Project, an innovative training/mentoring program for pastors and lay leaders. His books include “A New Kind of Christianity” as well as The Seventh Story and its companion children’s book, Cory and the Seventh Story, written together with New Story Festival co-founder Gareth Higgins. Brian was a headline speaker at the inaugural 2019 New Story Festival.
Kaitlin curtice
Kaitlin is a Native American writer and speaker. As an enrolled member of the Potawatomi Band and someone who has grown up in the Christian faith, Kaitlin writes on the intersection of Indigenous spirituality and faith in everyday life. Kaitlin was a headline speaker at the inaugural 2019 New Story Festival.
JENNIFER KNAPP
Jennifer Knapp is a Grammy-nominated songwriter, author, and advocate. Her impressive history includes selling over one million albums with her first three releases. As the first major artist known by the Christian music world to speak openly about LGBTQ identity, her unique position has created opportunities for a national dialogue. In 2012 Knapp founded the advocacy non-profit organization, Inside Out Faith. A true Renaissance woman, Knapp recently completed a master’s degree in theological studies from Vanderbilt Divinity School.
Tamisha Tyler
Tamisha is a PhD student at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, CA studying Theology, Culture and Ethics. She works with several arts organizations including Listen Los Angeles (a listening project featuring an all African American cast reflecting on the current state of the country through art), Level Ground (engaging empathy across difference), and ARC Art | Religion | Culture. She also co-hosts a podcast entitled Why We're Friends. Tamisha was a key organizer for the inaugural 2019 New Story Festival as Lead for the CREATE Program Team
The new story core team
Jenna Jasso
PROGRAM COORDINATOR
Jenna teaches mindfulness that supports personal and communal transformation, and is a permaculture designer with a passion for teaching regenerative and sustainable living.. She started LoveATX in 2011, producing events with a vision to evolve our culture into harmony with ourselves, each other, and our planet. Her transformational events expand self awareness, awaken a sense of purpose, cultivate compassion, encourage connection, and empower individuals and groups to overcome the challenges of today.
Gayle Evers
OPERATIONS MANAGER
Gayle is a pastor and a former bank executive. She loves to engage with people, listening to their stories and walking alongside them. She believes in the vision of a New Story and sees a place in the New Story where her gifts can be leveraged in support of the greater community.
Mallory LehenBauer
MARKETING DIRECTOR
Mallory Lehenbauer is a writer, editor, and marketing professional based in Austin, TX. Mallory is passionate about storytelling and helping others put their stories into words and visuals. She co-founded the lifestyle brand, Writing Home Society, a space for women to hear stories and be inspired.
Maida Ference
HEALING ARTS COORDINATOR
Maida is a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner and is currently working on her first book. She’s an almost-native Austinite, military spouse, and mother of two teenagers.
Claire Corrigan
EXHIBITOR COORDINATOR
Claire is the Exhibitor Coordinator for the New Story Festival and a Community Builder for Incarnation Church ATX. Her passions include ecology and conservation, theology, writing, and homeless outreach. In her spare time, she volunteers with Laundry Love- St David’s Episcopal Church and RestPit Harm Reduction. Claire has a B.S. in Biology from Texas State University, and lives in Austin with her husband and two children.
JOnes
VOLUNTEER COORDINATOR
Jones is a lover and a trouble maker, an organizer and a disruptor. Currently, they are mobilizing grassroots support on the mean streets of DC for organizations confronting systemic injustice. They are committed to courageously inclusive community and action rooted in values.
K. Stellar Dutcher
MAIN STAGE PROGRAMMING & ACT TEAM
K. Stellar Dutcher is a musician, songleader, facilitator, organizer, poet and culture change advocate based in Austin, TX. A lifelong musician, they believe deeply in listening, singing, confronting & healing white supremacy culture in themselves & others, and laughter. They are the founder of The Seventh String, a transcendental indie folk band, and travel throughout the U.S. leading workshops in authentic relating, leadership, song circles, and how we can come home to more intimate connection with self, planet and perceived other.
FATIMA MANN
ACT
Fatima "barefoot empress" Mann is a healer, lawyer, cultivator of equity, a yoga instructor, the cofounder of two Austin based nonprofits the Austin Justice Coalition and Counter Balance ATX, and currently serves as the birther and Director of Community Advocacy and Healing Project.
Barry James
ACT
Barry is a local community organizer who found his way to Austin 4 years ago after spending most of his adult life in Connecticut and other parts of the Northeast. He has a passion for social justice in its many forms, and continues to identify ways to make an impact within his community by motivating and guiding individuals to work towards telling a new story with more equitable outcomes.
Sara Ness
CONNECT
Sara is an instigator of authenticity, ninja of connection, and awkward turtle of social situations. She teaches Authentic Relating and Circling worldwide. You can find out more about Sara at www.authrev.com.
Josh Pasmore
CONNECT
General Contractor, Investor, Land Developer, Snowboard Instructor, Tour Guide, Investment strategist, Loan officer, financial planning, Investment Banking, Movie Script Writer, Spanish Tutor. Developed: New Earth Operating System (N.E.O.S.), TribeMatch, Project-Synergy, GreenEarthCity and GreenEarthVision, A guide to leaving the matrix, training, master planning, culture code, economic models, and agreement fields.
Katie Jo Suddaby
CREATE // SITE DESIGN
Rev. Katie Jo Suddaby is a free-range pastor, ordained with the American Baptists. Short, spunky, and straight forward; she is a sought after speaker and artist; practicing Tibetan Sand Painting. She directs a food pantry in Rochester, NY, loves Star Trek, her dog (Bernie Sanders), and singing show tunes.
Danny Morris
DEEPEN
Danny is a trauma informed somatic mindfulness coach and plays at the intersections of meditation, spirituality, healing and relating. He has spent over 10,000 in silent meditation retreat exploring for himself the direct experience pointed to by spiritual traditions. He is now in the deep inquiry of taking the depth of the inward journey and applying it to becoming fully human and engaging in a world that requires action with an open heart.
Heather Elizabeth Neary
DEEPEN
Heather Elizabeth is a life-long Seeker of the greater purpose and meaning of existence, and a champion for unity consciousness. She has a background as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and has worked in a variety of settings including hospice, long-term care facilities for aging adults and adults with special needs, and the admissions department of a psychiatric hospital. Her yearning for Spiritual growth has led her to be initiated into the ancient healing arts of shamanism, energy medicine, and the life-changing experience of attending Nine Gates Mystery School.
Anthony Gerardi
DEEPEN
Anthony Gerardi is an innovator and the founder of Insiteflow a software company focused on improving clinical outcomes and financial results for the healthcare industry. He believes we are all spiritual beings having a human experience and is excited to be part of the New Story Festival, helping people on their spiritual journey.
MIA PEM
DEEPEN
My passion is to facilitate dances that intrigue and inspire. I am enthusiastic to offer a movement practice in a space of safety and kindness, where each person can arrive fully present to their own intelligent guidance, life story, and play of spirit.
Paula Gilbert
PERFORM
Paula Gilbert, a theater artist for over 35 years, has also worked with Austin Habitat for Humanity, sang in a folk band, and is a professional stagehand, among other talents. Hooked on the New Story Festival in 2018, Paula decided she wanted to support the NSF in a more involved way. As a woman of faith, Paula investigates all avenues to spirituality both faith-based and secular. Music and theater play important parts in her life and journey. She wishes you to find your path and embrace it with joy.
IFFY ROMA
PLAY
Iffy Roma is a facilitator of space and curiosity. As a performer, she uses a variety of skills to tell stories and connect with and inspire the audience. She produces artistic passion projects and is driven to build spaces for self-expression and personal growth. Originally from NYC where she performed and produced burlesque shows, performed, worked with and taught for the nonprofit social justice theater company Girl Be Heard; she now finds her self in Austin focusing on sustainability and healing through movement arts and the art of play! She is the co-creatrix for the Austin based inspired and intuitive event company Ministry of Muse.
sTEPHEN KINNEY
THINK
Stephen Kinney serves as the Director of The Front Porch, a non-profit mission of All Saints’ Episcopal Church in Austin. After serving as youth minister, chaplain, and rector in schools and parishes in Houston, New York City, and Fredericksburg, he earned a PhD in Educational Psychology with a focus on building dialogical community in our often busy and divided world. He is married to Gwen and has three kids.
Jo Kretzler
THINK
Jo Kretzler grew up in Manchester in the north of England. She majored in fine art at Oldham College of Art and later studied Architectural Design at the University of Teesside. Jo was one of the founding members of Gateway Church, a non-denominational church here in Austin and spent many years in leadership there. Jo is a MDiv. graduate of Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary and is ordained within the United Methodist Church. She is the Associate Pastor at St. Luke UMC here in Austin.
Amanda Masino
THINK
Amanda Masino is Associate Professor of Biology and Chair of Natural Science at Huston-Tillotson University, where she directs undergraduate research and HT’s new degree program in Environmental Justice. She also engages in nonprofit work through the Dumpster Project and the Austin Community Data Coalition.
MICHAEL CARBERRY
KIDS
Michael is the founder & Director of the Whole Life Learning Center, an alternative school located in south Austin. As an educational visionary and innovator he has developed a holistic pedagogy focused on environmental sustainability, social justice, personal growth and empowerment. When not running a school, Michael can be found spending quality time with his family, wrestling with his two young sons, playing music, taking care of the animals, or turning the compost.
MARGARET ZIMMERMAN
ASSISTANT OPERATIONS MANAGER
Margaret holds a vision of, like Gandhi, being the change we wish to see in the world. Margaret wishes to see imagination, connection, healing and love. She is willing to give her time and energy to NSF to try to be this change.
Sharon Swedlow
ANALYST
Sharon is a mother, friend, poet and left-brain thinker. She is the Director of Finance at Texas Veterinary Medical Association, has a passion for spreadsheets, and loves road trips, reading and dance.
Danita nelson
REGISTRATION
I am a mother, grandmother, and seminary student with a background in arts administration, non-profit management, and freelance writing. My passions include reading, gardening, music and gathering with friends and family. An admitted introvert, I am always game for animated conversation about just about anything interesting -- especially the taboo subjects of religion and politics. I serve as a Ruling Elder in the Presbyterian Church (USA) with hopes of being ordained as a Minister of the Word and Sacrament. I enjoy New Story Festival as a place to share culture, faith, and creativity.
Aiden Diaz
VIDEOGRAPHY
Aiden Nathaniel Diaz is a Photographer & Videographer who loves telling stories through visual mediums. His favorite things to produce are portraits and documentary shorts. Aiden is also currently at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary in pursuit of his Masters in Divinity and is looking to become a Chaplin. You can see more of Aiden's photo/video work at aidennathanieldiaz.com.
D. G. Hollums
PHOTOGRAPHY
D.G. is a geek, foodie, United Methodist minister, contemplative photographer, father, husband, son, self-described "extroverted contemplative,” lover of all people, and a social disruptive innovator. When D.G. is not spending time with his family you can probably find him working with The Order Of The Trinity.
Vicki CUTHERELL
SEL Consultant
Vicki works to create a feeling of inclusion so that all members of the social order become part of the inner group and are inspired by a shared vision of The Golden Rule of treating others as one would want to be treated. Recognizing that all of us are on a hero’s journey acknowledges that though diversity exists, our common goal is to be part of a community through connection and service.
EMILY SCHREPF
ASSISTANT VOLUNTEER COORDINATOR
Emily is a recent transplant to Austin and is loving exploring all it has to offer. She has worked for various nonprofits around the country and is passionate about social and environmental justice. Running, yoga, reading and exploring with her boyfriend and 3 stepchildren rounds out Emily's happy life.
Tinny Widjaja
GUEST HOSPITALITY
Tinny Widjaja is the Compassionate Austin Community Liaison Catalyst. She works as a bridge builder among organizations, businesses, schools, and faith and interfaith communities to support collaborations, alliances, and liasons in strengthening compassionate action in our community. Tinny sits on various nonprofits boards including Buddha's Light International Association, Interfaith Ambassadors of Lake Travis and Institute Diversity & Civic Life. Hailing from Singapore, Austin is now home for her family. When not volunteering and building connection within her local community, she loves to cook and host at home. Her love for travel and continuous learning drives her #EveryYearGoal: “Achieve 1 New Thing, Learn 1 New Skill and Visit 1 New Place”.
erin ray
GUEST HOSPITALITY
Inspired by the wisdom teachers Thich Nhat Hanh and Fr. Richard Rohr, Erin is humbly and whole-heartedly falling into the second half of life, where the work is to be and to cultivate Oneness, Compassion, Interbeing, and Love. She is passionate about holding space for people to get out of their heads and into their bodies, breathe love and compassion into their hearts, and encounter the spark of divinity within themselves so they can recognize it in all beings and the Earth. Erin is amazed to have found the New Story community through Compassionate Austin, and is excited to be part of the second New Story Festival.
MICHAEL CROSA
CONTRIBUTOR HOSPITALITY
Michael is a Student Emergency Services coordinator at UT Austin and the director of Jollyville Brass Quintet. He moved to Austin in September of 2018 from his hometown of Asheville, NC. He lives with his two cats, Treefrog and Happy Bob.
Renée Blatchley
QUARTERMASTER
Renée is an old soul whose human experience includes being a spouse & parent, an architect, artist, engineer, a writer, and a woman of transgender experience. Convinced that the whole point of life is to learn to love others and to learn to be loved, Renée simply IS.
Judi Blatchley
VENUE PRODUCTION
Logical yet free, diplomatic while forthcoming, chronic challenges living in victory, Judi loves God, family, and all that life has to offer. An ambassador, unification specialist, Mamma Bear, she shows unconditional love to those society wishes to throw away. An artist and writer, she loves to express her innermost thoughts and wisdom.
Lynne Roy
BOOKSTORE
Lynne is a lover of God, life, persons, light and water. She is known as daughter, sister, mom, grandma, aunt, nurse, church member, contemplative, and friend. Lynne enjoys laughing, playing, listening, reading, dancing, swimming, and just being.
Susan Corbin
BOOKSTORE
Susan is focusing on her recently rediscovered passion for writing. She is retired from careers ranging from medical technology and biochemistry research to academic student support. She continues doing dissertation coaching. She loves travel and hanging out with friends and her family including her husband, two children, and seven grandchildren.
Kageni Pierce
SPONSOR RECRUITER
Kageni grew up in Kenya speaking Swahili, moved to the US in 2000, and is the proud mother to the most loving daughter. In addition to overseeing the New Story Sponsor Team, Kageni is part of the Circling Europe Operations Team, and brings many years of skill, expertise, and international experience. She gets the most joy when participating in making someone else’s life just a bit easier, no matter the problem.
KATHERINE SCHUETHS
SPONSOR RECRUITER
Katherine moved to Austin from Nebraska in 2011. She fell in love with the city and fits right in. She never sits still for long. Katherine runs a corporate event company, hosts a local monthly networking group, and works with New Story Festival by day. On the weekends she spends her time camping, attending Renaissance festivals, playing with her dog, and dancing.
Jacob lehenbauer
WEBMASTER
Jacob is a current Math teacher and Tech educator. He strives to enable everyone around him to continue learning, always in the way that best suits them. He has enjoyed living in Austin for almost 4 years with his wife Mallory. They frequent Barking Springs and enjoy time spent with their dog Maybie and cat David.