View as Webpage

Through Braver Collective, workshop alum Scott Dille is creating a more just, generous world.

Scott Dille, the founder of Braver Collective and a 2018 alum of Center for Story & Witness’s award-winning testimonial writing program.

Getting braver, one story at a time. 

Watching participants tap into their power and purpose during Center for Story & Witness’s immersive, two-day testimonial writing program for those who have lived through or witnessed gender-based violence or other human rights violations is always moving for us. But seeing what our workshop alums do over time? That’s been awe-inspiring. 

Scott Dille, the founder of Braver Collective - an extraordinary, first-of-its-kind digital safe community and storytelling space for survivors of sexual harm - is one such alum. Scott’s belief that we heal best when we heal in creative community was fostered during his experience with Center for Story & Witness.

“The Center for Story & Witness writing workshop was both an education and a catalyst in my journey toward founding Braver Collective,” says Scott. “It opened my eyes to the power of each survivor’s personal story, and taught me that sharing my own story might serve as an encouragement to other survivors as they walk their own healing journeys.”

“Center for Story & Witness literally changed the trajectory of my life. The Braver Collective community emerged from the broader community that Anne, Clifton, and their team have fostered. We’re proud to be a small part of this juggernaut for social justice.”

Seeing Scott's glimmer of an idea become a first-of-its-kind digital destination is a reminder of the power that exists within every survivor. Thank you, Scott and Braver Collective, for all that you are doing to create a more just, generous and safe world.

Storyteller Zouhair Khaznaoui during a Center for Story & Witness workshop in Marrakesh, Morocco.

If you’re ready to use story to create social change, our Center for Story & Witness testimonial writing program is the place for you.

Our testimonial writing workshops at Center for Story & Witness were developed to help those who have lived through or witnessed gender-based violence and other social injustices use their voices, faces, and stories to call the public to greater compassion and, equally importantly, social action. We ground each writing workshop in a simple belief: that we are here to be heard.

During each immersive, two-day testimonial writing workshop, a cohort of survivors, witnesses, writers, and activists come together to read and discuss culture-changing literature … take part in a series of innovative, real-time writing exercises … and share creative work in moderated, trauma-informed workshop sessions. Media neutral and genre inclusive, this writing program was created to support those who seek to use their testimonial voice as a vehicle for personal or political transformation.

Randy Jayne Rosenberg founder of Art Works for Change and Center for Story & Witness partner.

Art works for change: Randy Jayne Rosenberg’s “A Turbulent Landscape” debuts at the Richmond Art Center.

Artist, curator and longstanding Center for Story & Witness partner Randy Rosenberg - the curator of our upcoming “Bearing Witness” exhibition - has a solo show April 8 - 11 at the Richmond Art Center in Richmond, CA. We encourage you to see "A Turbulent Landscape,” which reflects on the instability reshaping our world—from climate disruption and wildfires to broader social upheaval—and considers how we seek equilibrium amid constant change. This timely exhibition features large-scale mixed-media works that combine painting, photography, and assemblage to evoke landscapes in motion. Thank you, Randy, for using your art to tell a powerful for story about the state of the world now, while challenging us to change it.

UPCOMING EVENTS

CREATIVE INTERRUPTION: THE THEOLOGY OF PEACE CONFERENCE.



Center for Story & Witness co-founders Anne K. Ream and R. Clifton Spargo and ethicist and theologian Wolfgang Palaver are keynote presenters.

July 7, 2026 | 9A-5P CST

DePaul Center

Chicago, IL

THE HAROLD WASHINGTON LITERARY AWARDS: A PRINTERS ROW LIT FEST EVENT.

Keynote TBA; Co-Chairs Anne K. Ream of Center for Story & Witness & Rosellen Brown of Art Institute of Chicago to give opening remarks.

September 2026

The Union League Club

Chicago, IL

UP NEXT: A TWO-DAY TESTIMONIAL WRITING WORKSHOP. 

Co-led by R. Clifton Spargo and Anne K. Ream, for graduates of our Stories We Tell, Breaking Free, or Testimony & Transformation writing programs. 

This is a fee based workshop; email janet@storyandwitness.org to find out more. 

Fall/Winter 2026 (date TBA)

Simmons Center for Global Chicago

Chicago, IL

BEARING WITNESS: A CONTEMPORARY ART EXHIBITION & AUCTION.

Presented by Center for Story & Witness in partnership with Art Works for Change; curated by Randy Jayne Rosenberg in alliance with Tiphanie Spencer-Babinet.

Fall/Winter 2026