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 shared.
We have listed them by city in city in alphabetical order
(you can listen to one of their stories 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 shared.
We have listed them by city in city in alphabetical order
(you can listen to one of their stories 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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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Sonal Aggarwal 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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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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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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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. |
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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Nelson Lugo
Magician :: Storyteller :: Podcast Host NelsonLugo.com 646.209.1817 became a storyteller by never winning a Moth Story Slam. He created and produced “Gathering The Magic” an autobiographical solo storytelling show with magic that ran for 33 performances across the United States and in Denmark. He is a frequent guest artist on many NYC storytelling stage shows, his stories can be heard on the Story Collider Podcast as well as RISK: The Podcast. |
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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 |
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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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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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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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. |
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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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. |
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. |
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