Our Team
ISC’s core team consists of a small but dedicated full-time staff, which is guided by the wisdom and experience of ten board members. These folks curate all of ISC’s live events, organize its outreach work, and keep the organization running from day to day.
Our Staff
ISC’s administrative offices are headquartered in downtown Jonesborough, in a two-building campus that includes the historic Chester Inn (a state historic site!) and the 14,000-square foot Mary B. Martin Storytelling Hall.
Meet the Staff
Michael Carson
President
Phone: 800-952-8392 ext. 275
Email: michael@storytellingcenter.net
Michael Carson is the President of the International Storytelling Center. Michael began his post with ISC in April 2024.
Carson’s leadership and development experience has been with organizations across the nonprofit and NGO sectors. He has served as a catalyst for community building and a passionate advocate for critical infrastructure, including health care services, education, and access to clean water in emerging economies. He holds a master’s degree in public administration from Harvard University, an MBA from Clark Atlanta University, and a certificate in nonprofit management from Stanford University’s Social Innovation Review.
Susan O’Connor
Director of Programs
Phone: 800-952-8392 ext. 281
Email: susan@storytellingcenter.net
Susan is responsible for the overall direction and artistic programming of the National Storytelling Festival, the Teller-In-Residence Series, as well as ISC’s visitor activities and regional outreach programs.
Susan is a graduate of the University of Tennessee-Knoxville with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and a Master of Science degree in educational psychology. A former teacher, she began her work with the organization in 1989.
Sandy Reaves
Director of Finance & Operations
Phone: 800-952-8392 ext. 279
Email: sandy@storytellingcenter.net
As the Director of Finance, Sandy is responsible for ISC’s accounting practices, maintaining financial records, preparing financial management reports and procedures, as well as administering the employee benefits program. As the Director of Operations, Sandy is responsible for the direction and coordination of the organization. She is responsible for the growth and profitability of the organization. This role includes expense control, staff management, facilities oversight, and department supervision.
Sandy has a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from East Tennessee State University. She worked with Lewis and Associates, a public Accounting firm in Johnson City, Tennessee for three years before joining the ISC staff in February of 2003.
Krystal Hawkins
Program Administrator
Phone: 800-952-8392 ext. 282
Email: krystal@storytellingcenter.net
Krystal is responsible for coordinating the talent logistics for the National Storytelling Festival, managing the daily operations for the 26-week Teller-In-Residence Series and providing general administrative support of all programs. She joined the ISC staff full-time in July of 2017.
Lesley McDavid
Facility Director
Phone: 800-952-8392 ext. 226
Email: lesley@storytellingcenter.net
Lesley is responsible for planning, coordinating and directing all Center activities including facility rentals, gift shop stock and staff management for the Mary B. Martin Storytelling Hall.
Lesley has a Bachelor of Science in Marketing and Management from East Tennessee State University. Lesley joined the ISC staff in July 2020.
Lisa Whaley
Director of Development
Phone: 800-952-8392 ext. 224
Email: lisa@storytellingcenter.net
Lisa oversees all aspects of Fund Development at the International Storytelling Center. This includes procuring, developing, and managing relationships with donors and sponsors, as well as developing new and innovative ways to seek funding sources, including grants and gifts.
Lisa helps to strengthen and build visibility at local, national and international levels and to all constituents, while also strengthening and diversifying communications with target audiences through community relations, speaking engagements, and the ways we tell ISC’s stories.
Marianne Huff
Festival Registration Coordinator
Phone: 800-952-8392 ext. 283
Email: marianne@storytellingcenter.net
Marianne is responsible for overseeing all mail, phone, and online registrations for the National Storytelling Festival as well as on-site Festival registration. Marianne joined the staff in 2012.
Angela White
Communications Associate
Phone: 800-952-8392 ext. 230
Email: angela@storytellingcenter.net
Angela serves as the communications associate. She administers all aspects of ISC’s marketing and digital communication efforts, including ISC’s web presence, traditional marketing, media relations, program ad sales, and coordinates sponsorships for Festival and Teller-in-Residence programming.
Angela is a graduate of East Tennessee State University and holds a master’s degree in Brand and Media Strategy, and a bachelor’s degree in Media and Communications. Angela joined ISC in 2021.
Sarah Bethea
Customer Service Host
Phone: 800-952-8392 ext. 222
Email: frontdesk@storytellingcenter.net
Sarah is responsible for welcoming and serving our on-site visitors at the ISC, providing information and support for registrants of the National Storytelling Festival and the Teller-In-Residence Series. Sarah is responsible for overseeing the vast volunteer program at the Center. She also assists the facility director with various activities. Sarah joined the staff in 2021.
Kiran Singh Sirah
Past President
Email: kirandeepsirah@gmail.com
Storytelling: A Peaceful Power – A TEDxNashville with Kiran Sirah
Namaste, y’all – The Rotarian, February 2019
Kiran Singh Sirah is Past President of the International Storytelling Center (ISC), prior to his appointment at ISC, Kiran developed a number of award-winning arts, cultural and human rights programs in cultural centers across the UK and Ireland. Widely recognized for advancing storytelling as a tool for building social empathy and intercultural understanding, he has spoken and led programming at the Library of Congress, the Kennedy Center, the US Senate of foreign relations, US state department, and the Pentagon. Kiran champions his beliefs in the power of human creativity, arts, storytelling and social justice through his advisory role to UNESCO Scotland and through his service as a Rotary Peace Fellow. In 2017, Sirah was awarded the “Champion of Peace” recognition at the Rotary International Day ceremony at the United Nations in Geneva. Kiran firmly believes Storytelling not only has the power to enrich lives, but it also holds the key to building a conflict free society.
Jimmy Neil Smith
Founder & President Emeritus
Our Board
ISC’s talented Board of Directors consists of ten individuals with backgrounds in areas that encompass performing arts, the humanities, education, peacebuilding, and fundraising. Together, their insights help guide the organization’s mission and work.
Meet the Board
Ariel Gratch, Vice Chairman
Second Term Ends 2024
Assistant Professor of Communication Arts Utica College
Ariel Gratch is an academic and a storyteller. As an academic, Ariel has published on how storytelling takes shape in the digital age, how storytelling plays an integral role in shaping our identities, and how storytelling is an educational tool. Ariel is also a storyteller who likes to experiment with new ways of telling stories, be it through audience participation, the incorporation of new media, or by drawing on avant-garde performance techniques in his telling. He has performed at the National Storytelling Festival’s Story Slam, the New Orleans Fringe Festival, the Experimental Methodologies Symposium in Surrey, the SOS Winter Storytelling Festival, and at many universities and theatres in the United States. Ariel loves to tell and listen and believes that we become our best selves through storytelling.
Cayden Mak
Publisher, Convergence Magazine
First Term Ends 2024
Cayden Mak served most recently as the Executive Director at 18 Million Rising, a digital-first organization working to nurture and connect racial justice movements in Asian American communities across the United States. His ongoing interests in popular cultures on and of the internet, as well as how technology shapes our understanding of ourselves and one another, have animated his work for the past two decades from academia to activism. He is a recognized leader in the field of media justice, and has been honored for his work galvanizing community action for internet freedom.
He lives in Oakland, California, with his devoted dog, Phoenix. His writing about the internet, power, and culture can be found at bodywithout.org
Harold Dishner, Treasurer
First Term Ends 2027
Owner, Agent State Farm Insurance
Harold has been a regular speaker in the financial services industry. He is recognized as an authority in the field of technology and staff development for insurance agencies. He has been a featured speaker in US and Canada..
Outside his agency, Harold enjoys investing in and developing real estate in the Southeast. Harold is an active member of the local community with a particular passion for helping ETSU; and supporting the development of the arts and art education in our region.
He and his wife Nancy spend their spare time, enjoying the gardens and cooking in their home in Jonesborough .
Lyn Ford
First Term Ends 2024
Ohio Teaching Artist, Storyteller, Writer and Transformative Language Arts Practitioner
Lynette (Lyn) Ford shares the gifts and heritage of the spoken word from her Affrilachian family. Lyn’s national and international festival programs and workshops encourage folks to speak personal truths and hopeful possibilities through folktales and original stories.
An award-winning writer and anthologist and a Thurber House mentor to young authors, Lyn’s latest book (with friend and fellow teller Sherry Norfolk) is Supporting Diversity and Inclusion with Story.
Lyn is a former board member of the Storytellers of Central Ohio, the Ohio Order for the Preservation of Storytelling (now known as the Ohio Storytelling Network), and the Transformative Language Arts Network.
Lyn is a recipient of two National Storytelling Network’s Oracle Awards, and a member of the National Association of Black Storytellers Circle of Elders and the National Writing Project’s Writers Council. Lyn believes in the power of storytelling to break down barriers, build bridges and inspire community.
Adam Booth
First Term Ends 2027
Storyteller
Adam Booth is the 2022 West Virginia Folk Artist of the Year, awarded at the Governor’s Arts Awards. Adam blends traditional mountain folklore, music, and an awareness of contemporary Appalachia to create original, forward-thinking story artistry. As a nationally touring artist, his professional telling appearances include premiere arts and storytelling events across the United States, including the 2024-2025 Mid Atlantic Arts Touring Roster, the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage, the National Storytelling Festival, and as a Spoken Word Resident at the Banff Centre (Alberta, Canada). Adam serves as the inaugural Storyteller-In-Residence at Shepherd University and is the founding artistic director of Speak Story Series, a premier destination for storytelling in concert.
Terry Countermine
First Term Ends 2027
Retired Professor Emeritus, Department of Computing
East Tennessee State University
Lynda Harris, Chairwoman
First Term Ends 2024
Lynda Harris retired to Jonesborough after over 30 years with the American Red Cross, based primarily with the National Headquarters in Washington, DC. Her service included being the National Director of Volunteers and retiring as the National Director of Operations for Health and Safety Services. She was recognized in 1992 and 2015 with the organization’s highest award for employees. Her early career was as a high school English teacher, reading specialist, and faculty member and then as development director for a small Catholic college.
Since her professional retirement in 2015, Lynda has been a full time community volunteer serving as a frontline volunteer on numerous local boards including the League of Women Voters, the Community Chest, a founding board member for Storytelling Resource Place, and the Jonesborough Storytellers Guild where she co-lead a partnership with the Ballad Health System to implement a bedside storytelling program for hospital patients and their families. In 2019 the program was awarded the Hamilton Arts and Healing Award by the National Association for Arts in Healing.
In addition to being a regular ISC volunteer, she coordinated the 2018 and 2019 National Storytelling Festival volunteers. She views storytelling both as a performance art and a birthright tool for initiating and sustaining global connectedness.
Adam Dickson
First Term Ends 2027
Director, Langston Centre
Adam Dickson is a community advocate and servant-leader. His professional experiences include local government, higher education, and the nonprofit sector. Adam currently works for the City of Johnson City, TN as Supervisor of the Langston Centre, a multicultural facility promoting community engagement through the arts, education, and leadership. He is Vice-Mayor on the Board of Mayor and Aldermen for the Town of Jonesborough, and he is an Adjunct Instructor of Political Science at East TN State University. Adam holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Carson-Newman University, and he received a Master of Public Administration degree from East TN State University.
Dana Helvey
First Term Ends 2027
Dana’s background includes several original and successful business ventures, professional photographer specializing in Navajo Nation High School Seniors, “hanging out of a helicopter” for the Feds, and a 27 year Volunteer Fire Safety Officer/EMT in Colorado’s second largest (328 square miles) fire dept. Since moving to Jonesborough and purchasing a historic home several years ago, Dana has become Chair of the Jonesborough Board of Dwelling Standards, and serves on the Flag Committee.
Sue O’Halloran
First Term Ends 2023
Senior Consultant for The Kaleidoscope Group
Producer, Speaker and Storyteller – O’Halloran Diversity Productions
Since 1969, Sue O’Halloran has performed nationally and internationally and led Diversity, Equity and Inclusion seminars in corporate and nonprofit settings. Sue is author of several books and curricula including Diversity in Our Schools, Common Cross-Cultural Mistakes, Kaleidoscope: Valuing Differences and Creating Inclusion and Compelling Stories, Compelling Causes: Nonprofit Marketing Success.
In addition, Sue produces award-winning multicultural performances including White, Black and Brown: Tribes & Bridges at the Steppenwolf Theatre and More Alike Than Not: Stories of Three Americans – Christian, Jewish and Muslim. She is producer/director of the www.RacebridgesStudio.com site which showcases over 250 social justice video stories and receives over half a million visitors each year.
Sue believes in the power of storytelling to bring people together. About her own storytelling skills, The Chicago Reader’s Critic Choice said, “O’Halloran has mastered the Irish art of telling stories that are funny and heart-wrenching at the same time.”
Lee Patterson
First Term Ends 2027
Retired Attorney
Terry Countermine
Board Emeritus Member – 2020
Terry served on the ISC Board from 2013-2019, and is on active status again in 2024.
Thelma Kidd
Board Emeritus Member – 2020
Thelma served on the ISC Board from 2013-2019.