Converging Stories, a Raleigh live storytelling series from Raleigh Convergence, launched earlier this year to a sold-out crowd at Transfer Company.
We may not be able to gather in the same way, but our storytelling project will go on.
We’ll hold a night of live storytelling around the theme of “What If?” on Monday, May 25, virtually.
The storytellers, our neighbors, are coached to tell their true story around the theme and will tell it live over Zoom.
Attend this event to remember the ways we connect even during challenging times. Tickets are available now!
Meet the storytellers:
Kenia Thompson, founder of WordCrumbs, is a marketing professional with a passion for all things communication. Her love for education has led her to compile her classroom teachings and life lessons and use them as a vehicle to inform and educate others on the importance of communication.
In an effort to share much needed speaking skills with the public, Thompson takes a fun conversational approach that relates to all audiences. She is also an executive coach, facilitator for team development exercises and retreats, a videographer and a mom to two!
Jay Smith, together with his wife, build homes and manage property in the downtown Raleigh area. At the core, I’m a Native Angeleno, a Californian, a married father of two college-aged kids who helped me to understand my purpose.
I genuinely want us all to succeed and will go out of my way to ensure that. Being a property manager is exactly what you would think it’s like. I’m the guy that everyone wants to know but nobody wants to be. If you want something done, you come to me – everyone knows that!
I adopt a Greenway, volunteer with City of Raleigh, the Skate4Life Organization and work to prevent teen suicides. You can usually find me fixing tenant problems and toilets. You can also find me at the skatepark, ripping it up with the kids.
Mary Willson is the Director of Engagement at EducationNC where she leads newsletter and social media initiatives. Her work is focused on lifting up the voices of EdNC readers and connecting our work to the broader North Carolina public. Previously, she held a variety of engagement and management roles at 6AM City.
She is proud to be in the inaugural cohort of the CUNY Newmark Graduate School of Journalism’s Executive Program in News Innovation and Leadership. She is an active member of the Online News Association, has served on its conference social media team for three years, and was the inaugural Instagram digital host in 2019. She previously worked for USA Today Network as a digital producer in Fort Collins, Colorado — her hometown — where she graduated from Colorado State University.
She can be found walking her Goldendoodle Dax, running, hiking, going to solo movies, reading, or exploring the Southeast on the weekends.
Sarah Day Owen Wiskirchen, Raleigh Convergence editor, publisher & founder, will emcee and share a short story as well.
HOW TO ATTEND: [Get your ticket now]
You can support this community storytelling project in a few ways:
🎙️Purchase a ticket. Your ticket proceeds go to support Raleigh Convergence, a modern local media company offering free local news and curated newsletters to all in Wake County. We planned on this event as an on-mission revenue stream to support operations and sustainability. Please consider purchasing a ticket for this community-centric event as you would for in-person programming.
🎙️Sign up for a free ticket. If you’ve lost your job or income, we don’t want you to have a barrier to receiving storytelling that will touch your heart. We would be honored to have you join this event.
🎙️Support our COVID-19 local news fund. Raleigh Convergence has partnered with the Local Media Association, a 501(c)(3) organization, to accept donations to fund journalistic work around the coronavirus’ impact on our community. Contributions to this fund can only be used for that purpose. (Make sure you still register for a ticket)
PS: Consider making plans to order food from our partner, Transfer Company. We might not be on-site, but we can all share a meal together while apart.
