View as Webpage

What our writing program means to one of the anti-trafficking movement’s most inspired voices.

Alia Azariah, alum of our testimonial writing program and Director of Collective Impact at the Safe House Project.

From the Stories We Tell to an Obama Fellow: Meet Alia Azariah.

Every Center for Story & Witness testimonial writing workshop brings together a terrific cast of participants working to develop their stories in community with the aim of using their voices to create social change. But it is always exciting for us to witness our alums carrying out that work in the world by calling for justice, influencing policy, reshaping social systems, and creating pathways for others to find their voice and power.

We’re proud to celebrate alum Alia Azariah, who was recently selected for the 2025-26 Obama Foundation’s Leaders USA program, in recognition of her work as service provider, advocate, and leader in the effort to promote survivor-centered approaches in the anti-trafficking movement.

A nationally recognized expert in human trafficking, the commercial sexual exploitation of children, and trauma-informed systems change, Alia brings both lived experience and professional expertise to her role as Director of Collective Impact at Safe House Project, where she leads national efforts to strengthen care for survivors, trains professionals across the country, and contributes to policy and practice locally and nationally.

Reflecting on her experience with The Stories We Tell, Center for Story & Witness’s writing workshop for survivors of gender-based violence and other social injustices, Alia says, “My weekend taking part in this testimonial writing workshop was one of the most empowering points in my career as an anti-trafficking activist. The greatest thing I have taken away from my experience has been how multi-disciplinary my own storytelling journey is, and how applicable the things I learned in the workshop were across disciplines — even though it was a writing-focused workshop.”

All of Alia’s work is rooted in her belief in the dignity and potential of every survivor. Her voice, advocacy, and leadership are a powerful reminder of what becomes possible when stories are cultivated with care, intention, and purpose. 

Thank you, Alia, for all that you are doing to create a more just, responsive, and compassionate world.

A Stories We Tell writing workshop in partnership with Nellies in Toronto, Canada.

Bring the power of story to your community with our award-winning writing program.

What happens when people are given the space to tell the truth about what they’ve lived through?

During our signature two-day writing workshop, participants read and discuss testimonial writing from across history, social movements, and genres; take part in real-time writing exercises; and engage in moderated, trauma-informed workshopping of their writing.

Media-neutral and genre-inclusive, the program supports those who seek to use their testimonial voice as a vehicle for personal and social change. Each workshop is thoughtfully curated for the community it serves to create a space that is both creatively rigorous and deeply supportive.

The result? Each new workshop generates powerful stories that begin to envision and create communities where survivors find strength, voice, and connection. Through their powerful stories, our workshop alums are calling the public to an honest accounting of injustice.

Randy Rosenberg and Anne K. Ream during their feminist creative residency at Centre Pompadour in Ercourt, France, 2022.

Art in collaboration: Anne K. Ream and Randy Rosenberg are awarded a Cycladic Arts Residency. 

Curator and painter Randy Rosenberg, founder of Art Works for Change, and author and activist Anne K. Ream, co-founder of Center for Story & Witness, have long shared a commitment to using art and story to shed light on social injustice.

Anne and Randy have partnered on a number of projects, from the international exhibition Off the Beaten Path: Violence, Women, & Art, to the upcoming art auction and exhibition Bearing Witness, which will showcase world-class artists and designers while raising funds for the Center for Story & Witness scholarship fund.

Most recently, Anne and Randy were each awarded a Cycladic Arts Residency on the island of Paros in Greece. The residency brings together artists and writers from around the world to support the exchange of experiences, knowledge, and ideas across disciplines. 

Congratulations, Anne and Randy. We can’t wait to see the powerful new work that emerges from your time in Greece.

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.

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