My journey into storytelling started when I attended an online workshop with StoryCenter US during Covid - I didn’t even know you could work in storytelling! After doing some research, I discovered the MA course at Loughborough while looking for ways to deepen my understanding of storytelling in a professional context.
The course gave me a strong foundation in applied storytelling and helped me develop confidence and skills to apply what I was learning at work.
The International Digital Storytelling Conference at Loughborough was a huge highlight! I helped the organising committee out as part of a placement and it was a great opportunity to collaborate and network with storytelling practitioners from across the globe.
At the time, I was already working at the Canadian Cancer Society (CCS), where I’ve now been for 6.5 years. I completed the post-grad certificate part-time alongside my work and it was a fantastic experience.
Just over three years ago, I was offered my current role as Manager, Fundraising Communications and Story Centre at CCS. I am confident the post-grad certificate was an important factor in that opportunity.
In my role, I lead the strategic direction of our in-house storytelling program, ensuring that the voices and experiences we share reflect the diversity and impact of our work helping people affected by cancer. I collaborate closely with departments across the organization to identify compelling narratives that inspire people to change the future of cancer. I spend a lot of time thinking about ethical storytelling practices and how to translate this into best practices for how we work with people’s stories. We take a storyteller-centric approach to everything we do, and a key part of my work involves mentoring team members and fostering a culture of care and creativity in how we approach stories.