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# Center for Story & Witness

## Sitemaps

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## Posts

- [The theology of peace, the power of story.](https://storyandwitness.org/2026/06/22/the-theology-of-peace-the-power-of-story/) - How can religious, ethical, and spiritual paradigms help us imagine and confront violence? How do the stories we tell help us disrupt cycles of harm? And how can witnesses to injustice create pathways toward healing, genuine justice, and enduring peace? On July 7, Center for Story & Witness co-founders Anne K. Ream and R.
- [Can music help us make sense of our moment?](https://storyandwitness.org/2026/04/20/can-music-help-us-make-sense-of-our-moment/) - It’s a mad, mad world for a woman. A noisy one, too. Here a “shut up and sit down,” there the procreationist directive to “hurry up and have children,” everywhere a cacophony of voices reminding the “Second Sex” of the limited number of things the female body is for. To which Florence Welch, the frontwoman
- [Our writing workshop for survivors of gender-based violence is coming to 6 US cities this summer/fall. Apply now!](https://storyandwitness.org/2025/07/09/workshops-summer-fall-apply-now/) - Apply today for The Stories We Tell, Center for Story & Witness's award-winning testimonial writing program for those who have lived through or witnessed gender-based violence. During this 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
- [The Stories We Tell is heading to Dallas Sept. 13 & 14. Apply today!](https://storyandwitness.org/2025/07/30/the-stories-we-tell-is-heading-to-dallas-sept-13-14-apply-today/) - Developed to help those who have lived through or witnessed gender-based violence or other human rights violations use their voices, faces, and stories to call the public to greater compassion and — more importantly — social action, our Center for Story & Witness (formerly The Voices and Faces Project) testimonial writing program is supporting a
- [Art, memory, and resistance. What does AI have to do with it?](https://storyandwitness.org/2026/03/23/art-memory-and-resistance/) - AI for Peace in the Global Response to Violence Against Women and Girls - a day long conference on the margins of the 70th Session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women - brought together global human rights leaders, advocates, artists, writers, and technologists seeking to address a critical question: how can AI
- [The future isn't going to write itself: Our conversation about story, social justice and the art of bearing witness.](https://storyandwitness.org/2025/08/01/the-future-isnt-going-to-write-itself-our-conversation-about-story-social-justice-and-the-art-of-bearing-witness/) - Today, more than ever, the voices of those most impacted by social injustice need to be heard. But how do we confront those who seek to “disappear” stories that speak truth to power? And how can we use our own stories to bridge ideological divides in times of deep political conflict? On March 19
- [Using Story to Change the World, and Transform Ourselves: A Printers Row Lit Fest dialogue.](https://storyandwitness.org/2025/09/15/using-story-to-change-the-world-and-transform-ourselves-a-printers-row-lit-fest-dialogue/) - We know from history and social justice movements that stories are among our most powerful tools for creating social change. But how does the act of sharing the truths we’ve lived or witnessed alter the person doing the truth-telling? What impact can “activist storytelling” have on personal healing? How do we challenge those who
- [Bearing literary witness at Yale University’s Jackson School.](https://storyandwitness.org/2025/10/15/bearing-literary-witness-at-yale-universitys-jackson-school/) - Today, more than ever, the stories of those most impacted by social injustice need to be heard. But how do we challenge those who seek to “disappear” stories that speak truth to power? And how can we use our own stories to break through ideological barriers during times of high political conflict? On October 13th,
- [Heartbreak & Hope: Our 2025 year-end report.](https://storyandwitness.org/2025/12/01/heartbreak-hope-our-2025-year-end-report/) - At a time when funding for survivor-centered organizations is tightening, public conversations about basic rights are increasingly polarized, and those of us doing work at the intersection of art, advocacy, and social justice are under unprecedented attack, the mission of Center for Story & Witness (formerly The Voices and Faces Project) has never been more
- [Writer, reader, force: What Sandra Cisneros means to us.](https://storyandwitness.org/2025/09/11/sandra-cisneros/) - When Sandra Cisneros, an icon of American arts and letters, received the 2025 Harold Washington Literary Award last month, book lovers everywhere celebrated. And at Center for Story and Witness - where we regularly teach Sandra’s work during our global testimonial writing program for survivors of gender-based violence and other human rights violations - we were
- [We're partnering with IREX, UN Women and the US State Dept.](https://storyandwitness.org/2024/09/15/partneringwithirex/) - In September, 2024, Center for Story & Witness (formerly The Voices and Faces Project) traveled to Tbilisi, Georgia, where we partnered with UN Women to pilot our newest narrative advocacy workshop series, Local Storytelling, Global Change: Using Narrative in the Fight for Gender Justice. Created for, and in dialogue with, the UN Women Georgia country
- [A conversation about story for social change at Yale University.](https://storyandwitness.org/2024/06/30/yaleuniversity/) - This summer, award-winning playwright Caity-Shea Violette, an alum of our Stories We Tell testimonial writing workshop for survivors of gender-based violence, and novelist R. Clifton Spargo the co-creator of that program and a lecturer in creative writing at Yale University, came together for a discussion focused on creativity, craft, and writing for page, stage, and
- [Louder Together: Discover our crowdsourced poetry project.](https://storyandwitness.org/2025/01/15/louder-together-imagining-a-world-without-exploitation/) - Louder Together, Center for Story & Witness's crowdsourced poetry project, seeks to create video poetry that speaks to a range of human rights and social justice issues. Each crowdsourced poem in the series utilizes the voices of those who have lived through or witnessed an injustice, and uses their words as a call to social and
- [The Voices and Faces Project is now Center for Story & Witness](https://storyandwitness.org/2025/05/06/the-voices-and-faces-project-is-now-center-for-story-witness/) - Dear Friend, In 2006, a collective of artists, activists, and gender-based violence survivors launched The Voices and Faces Project, a global storytelling project created to bring the names, faces, and testimonies of survivors of gender-based violence to the attention of the public. We believed then, as we do now, that our stories can New name. New logo. More stories than ever before. The Voices and Faces Project is now...
- [Truthful, hopeful & countercultural: Amy Griffin’s The Tell is the book we need now.](https://storyandwitness.org/2025/05/03/truthful-hopeful-countercultural-amy-griffins-the-tell-is-the-book-we-need-now/) - During a time when misogyny is increasingly normalized, survivor voices continue to be silenced, and programs to address gender-based violence are threatened in unprecedented ways, Amy Griffin’s moving new memoir, The Tell, isn’t just timely. It’s taking on the status quo. An exploration of why we suppress our most painful memories, and the story
- [Thank you, Skoll World Forum, & congratulations to our Center for Story & Witness affiliated delegates.](https://storyandwitness.org/2025/05/02/thank-you-skoll-world-forum-congratulations-to-our-center-for-story-witness-affiliated-delegates/) - At Center for Story & Witness — a global storytelling initiative and testimonial writing program — we love celebrating the successes of our staff, workshop alums, and organizational allies. In April, 2025, there was a lot to celebrate as the Skoll Foundation convened the Skoll World Forum, a global, curated delegation of social innovators working
- [How do we heal from trauma? One story, and one song, at a time.](https://storyandwitness.org/2025/05/20/how-do-we-heal-from-trauma-one-story-and-one-song-at-a-time/) - At Center for Story & Witness (formerly The Voices and Faces Project) we know we cannot experience violence or dislocation without experiencing trauma. And trauma almost always walks hand in hand with grief. No public figure has spoken as eloquently to the transformative experience of such grief as has singer, songwriter, and author Nick
- [A Story Changes Everything: Ivana De Maria and Anne K. Ream at the World Without Exploitation National Convening.](https://storyandwitness.org/2025/06/02/a-story-changes-everything/) - We know from history and social justice movements - particularly the movement to end human trafficking - that the stories of those who have lived through injustice are one of our most powerful tools for creating social and legal change. But how does the act of sharing our truths alter the person doing the
- [Support the Mimi Grimes Scholarship Fund and give the gift of change.](https://storyandwitness.org/2025/06/23/support-the-mimi-grimes-scholarship-fund-and-give-the-gift-of-change/) - Melva “Mimi” Taylor Grimes – an activist and educator who taught for three decades in Chicago-area elementary schools before becoming a supervisor of teaching education at the University of California, Santa Barbara - spent her life believing in the power of empathy, community engagement, and justice. Working to create a world free of gender-based violence, an issue
- [The Power to Change, our initiative to support healing through storytelling, debuts in Morocco.](https://storyandwitness.org/2025/07/08/the-power-to-change/) - Center for Story & Witness is excited to announce The Power to Change, a groundbreaking storytelling and narrative advocacy initiative taking place in Marrakech, Morocco on July 26 & 27, 2025. This project, developed in partnership with IREX and the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, seeks to uplift community-driven stories
- [It’s time to resource a global gender-justice movement.  How do we get there?](https://storyandwitness.org/2025/07/07/preskoll-event/) - Anne K. Ream, co-founder of Center for Story & Witness, was recently part of a powerful strategy day held in Oxford, England: Resourcing a Global Movement: Strengthening Global Efforts to End Gender-Based Violence. This Skoll World Forum pre-convening brought together feminist leaders, movement organizers, artists, activists and funders from across the globe to explore
- [Our newest writing program? It's all about Breaking Free.](https://storyandwitness.org/2022/01/01/breakingfree/) - For millions of people, faith is a source of guidance, comfort and support. But what happens when our religious institutions fail us, or we have been sexually harmed by leaders within our religious or spiritual communities? For those who are shamed just for being who they are, faith is often a loaded word. Breaking
- [We're here to be heard: The On Voice podcast features Anne K. Ream.](https://storyandwitness.org/2022/02/01/find-it-use-it-make-it-matter-were-featured-on-voice/) - In "On Voice," an all-new podcast produced by DDB Chicago, strategists Kevin Richey and Milo Chao explore the concept of voice: What it is, how to find it, and how to make it matter.In a series of conversations with luminaries from a range of creative fields, Milo and Keven gain perspectives on these questions, with
- [We’re MSNBC/Comcast newsmakers. Watch the video.](https://storyandwitness.org/2022/03/01/msnbc-comcast-newsmaker/) - Comcast Newsmakers, the longest-running news and public affairs platform of any cable operator in the country, was created to recognize national trailblazers and engage them in meaningful conversations about issues, ideas, and community challenges. With a focus on individuals and organizations doing work that is making a measurable, national impact, the newsmaker series lifts
- [Receiving Apne Aap's Last Girl Award at Asia Society in NYC.](https://storyandwitness.org/2023/12/01/last-girl-awards/) - Mahatma Gandhi believed that in making any public decision, we should think deeply about how it affects the “last person” in society, centering those who are most vulnerable in all that we do. This is a vision that is deeply aligned with Center for Story & Witness’ global testimonial writing program for survivors of human
- [What is narrative justice? Our panel discussion at the WorldWE Convening.](https://storyandwitness.org/2024/06/01/2024worldwe-national-convening/) - Our lives are constructed through narrative. We live our stories, and then we tell those stories in a way that allows us to make sense of them. But which stories do we choose to tell, and in what medium or format? How can we ethically share stories that we have witnessed, but not lived? What

## Pages

- [Home](https://storyandwitness.org/) - At Center for Story & Witness (formerly The Voices and Faces Project) our mission is to cultivate and share stories that bear witness to gender-based violence and other social injustices in order to change minds, hearts, and public policy. The center is more than aplaceplaceplaceIt’s a vibrant community where testimony is cultivated, creativity is nurtured,
- [Events and News](https://storyandwitness.org/events-and-news/) - What's going on.
- [Newsletter Archives](https://storyandwitness.org/newsletter-archives/) - Newsletter Archives 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
- [Kali Casab](https://storyandwitness.org/kali-casab/) - OUR TEAM Kali Casab Communications & Digital Media Manager A writer, communications expert, community organizer, and lover of all things mindfulness, Kali Casab believes that justice and healing should go hand in hand. Growing up in a Mexican-Chaldean household in Metro-Detroit, Kali has always been passionate about liberation, healing, and social justice. As a child,
- [Lived Through This](https://storyandwitness.org/lived-through-this/) - BOOK & STAGED READING Lived Through This: Listening to the Stories of Sexual Violence Survivors How far would you go to tell a story? In 2004, Center for Story & Witness Co-founder Anne K. Ream and documentary photographer Patricia Evans embarked on a unique journey. Their goal was to document the stories of survivors who
- [Performances, Publications & Campaigns](https://storyandwitness.org/performances-publications-campaigns/) - Creating content that creates change.
- [LEAP](https://storyandwitness.org/leap/) - LITERARY JOURNAL Discover LEAP, our literary journal for girls who are loud, empowered, accepted and proud. It’s time to take a LEAP. “Behind the story I tell is the one that I don’t. Behind the story you hear is the one I wish I could make you hear,” wrote Dorothy Allison, author of the iconic
- [Notable Books](https://storyandwitness.org/notable-books/) - NOTABLE BOOKS Writing books that build a better world world world world Writers are at the heart of all that we do at Center for Story & Witness. Browse just a few of the notable books our workshop participants, staff, Advisory Board, and Launch and Leadership Circle members have written and discover your next favorite
- [Writing Workshops](https://storyandwitness.org/writing-workshops/) - Our stories are our power.
- [About the Center](https://storyandwitness.org/about-the-center/) - Together we're turning pain into possibility.
- [Lived Through This-old](https://storyandwitness.org/lived-through-this-old/) - "LIVED THROUGH THIS" How far would you go to tell a story? In 2004, Anne K. Ream and Patricia Evans traveled the world to document the lives of survivors of gender-based violence. Here are their testimonies. "LIVED THROUGH THIS" How far would you go to tell a story? In 2004, Anne K. Ream and Patricia
- [Mimi Taylor Grimes](https://storyandwitness.org/mimi-taylor-grimes/) - Anne K. Ream on the legacy of her Mom, Mimi Taylor Grimes. Mimi Taylor Grimes held tight to a set of timeless values: Be kind. Be curious. Imagine yourself into the life of another person. Know that you actually know very little.But the quality that most defined Mimi was openness.I suspect that this openness really took form during
- [Support Our Work](https://storyandwitness.org/support-our-work/) - Here's how you can help
- [Marcia Gordon Preston](https://storyandwitness.org/marcia-gordon-preston/) - OUR TEAM Marcia Gordon Preston Global Director of Strategic Partnerships & Philanthropy A strategist, storyteller, and catalyst for change, Marcia Gordon Preston brings over two decades of experience in nonprofit fundraising, board leadership, and purpose-driven project management to her role at Center for Story & Witness. Her work bridges philanthropy, advocacy, and artistry—building the kind of partnerships
- [Janet Goldblatt Holmes](https://storyandwitness.org/janet-goldblatt-holmes/) - OUR TEAM Janet Goldblatt Holmes Workshop Outreach Coordinator Janet Goldblatt Holmes is a trained dancer, educator, practitioner of holistic healing, and tireless advocate in the fight to end violence against women. As a survivor of sexual violence who’d been silent much of her life about abuse suffered as a young woman, Janet says that “something
- [Harold Washington Literary Award](https://storyandwitness.org/harold-washington-literary-award/) - About The Harold Washington Literary Award and its 2025 Selection Committee. Since 1989, Chicago’s Near South Planning Board and the Harold Washington Literary Award Selection Committee have come together to choose the recipient of this prestigious prize, named for the first Black mayor of Chicago, whose love of literature and commitment to diversity shaped and defined one of America’s great
- [Teacher Training Institute](https://storyandwitness.org/teacher-training-institute/) - Developing the next generation of writing workshop facilitators
- [Impact](https://storyandwitness.org/impact/) - We're not just making a difference. We're making a measurable impact.
- [Anne K. Ream](https://storyandwitness.org/anne-ream/) - OUR TEAM Anne K. Ream Co-Founder, Chief Vision Officer, Workshop Facilitator A writer, music critic, hot yoga devotee, and lifelong lover of dogs, Anne K. Ream has spent the past 20 years creating social spaces where the voices of gender-based violence survivors are heard. Anne’s groundbreaking book Lived Through This is a memoir of her
- [Aimee Bravo](https://storyandwitness.org/aimee-bravo/) - OUR TEAM Aimee Bravo Managing Director A trained yoga instructor and outdoor enthusiast, Aimee Bravo works to create an organizational culture that is creative, inclusive, healing, and kind. A founding member of The Voices and Faces Project with a “step up wherever I’m needed” mindset, Aimee has been a part of our organization since its
- [Advocacy Trainings](https://storyandwitness.org/advocacy-trainings/) - We're not waiting for change. We're working for it. Social change. It’s not enough to want it. Or even to work for it. We also need to strategize for it. Our narrative advocacy trainings at Center for Story & Witness (formerly The Voices and Faces Project) were created to help allies, advocates, and activists, working on a wide range of social justice issues, reflect critically on how to use story to create social change.
- [Jennifer Mitchell](https://storyandwitness.org/jennifer-mitchell/) - OUR TEAM Jennifer Mitchell Brand Manager A branding expert, devoted mother, lover of literature, and accomplished vegetarian cook, Jennifer Mitchell believes in bringing together activism and the communication arts to create change in the world. “My passion,” Jennifer says, “is to help mission-driven brands and organizations connect with audiences and amplify their stories.” Jennifer has
- [Tony Wittrock](https://storyandwitness.org/tony-wittrock/) - OUR TEAM Tony Wittrock Curator & Community Liaison, Music Programming A multi-instrumentalist whose passion for music extends beyond boundaries and genres, Tony Wittrock believes that music is one of the most primal, powerful tools available to those fighting for justice. Tony developed his love for American music at a young age, by listening to the
- [News Archives](https://storyandwitness.org/news-archives/) - News archives Heartbreak & Hope: Our 2025 year-end report.December 1, 2025 At a time when funding for survivor-centered organizations is tightening, public conversations about basic rights are increasingly polarized, and those...READ MORE ❯ Bearing literary witness at Yale University’s Jackson School.October 15, 2025 Today, more than ever, the stories of those most impacted by social
- [Our Statement on Racial Justice](https://storyandwitness.org/our-statement-on-racial-justice/) - It's on all of us: Center for Story & Witness statement on racial justice. In August 1963, Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. — imprisoned in Birmingham, Alabama, for taking part in an anti-segregation demonstration — was on the receiving end of a public statement issued by a group of white religious leaders who, although
- [Caity-Shea Violette](https://storyandwitness.org/caity-shea-violette/) - OUR TEAM Caity-Shea Violette Writing Workshop Mentor A playwright, actress, and longtime advocate for those struggling with mental illnesses, Caity-Shea Violette is passionate about creating new work about women for the stage. “Taking part in The Stories We Tell testimonial writing workshop validated my pain and resilience and connected me to a community of survivors
- [Brenda Myers-Powell](https://storyandwitness.org/brenda-myers-powell/) - OUR TEAM Brenda Myers-Powell Community Liaison, Human Trafficking Programming A leading voice in the movement to end human trafficking, Brenda Myers-Powell advocates for programming that centers the voices of those who have been sexually exploited. Brenda is the founder of Ernestine’s Daughter, a not-for-profit organization that seeks to provide healing and support for women and
- [Linda Kay Klein](https://storyandwitness.org/linda-kay-klein/) - OUR TEAM Linda Kay Klein Writing Workshop Partner & Mentor Writer, activist, dedicated mother, and storyteller for social good, Linda is passionate about helping others reclaim themselves and their right to their own lives and choices. Linda Kay Klein is author of the award-winning book Pure: Inside the Evangelical Movement that Shamed a Generation of
- [Nobuko Nagaoka](https://storyandwitness.org/nobuko-nagaoka/) - OUR TEAM Nobuko Nagaoka Graphic Designer One of the first survivors of sexual violence to share her story with Center for Story & Witness, and a visionary art director, Nobuko Nagaoka drives our visual communications. “The experience of first sharing my story for Anne’s book Lived Through This was intense and powerful, and at times,
- [Jimmie Briggs](https://storyandwitness.org/jimmie-briggs/) - OUR TEAM Jimmie Briggs Principal, Racial & Social Justice, Workshop Facilitator As a writer, activist, and community organizer, Jimmie Briggs challenges us to look more closely at the connections among racial, social, and gender injustices. Jimmie is a documentary storyteller, writer, and advocate for racial and gender equity. He co-leads, alongside Clifton Spargo, the Center
- [LEAP Magazine](https://storyandwitness.org/leap-magazine/) - LEAP MAGAZINE We’re loud, empowered, accepted, and proud! Publish your work in our teen-focused literary magazine. All Chicago-area writing program graduates ages 13-19 can participate in LEAP! LEAP MAGAZINE We’re loud, empowered, accepted & proud! Publish your work in our teen-focused literary magazine. All Chicago-area writing program graduates ages 15-18 can participate in LEAP! Latest
- [Clifton Spargo](https://storyandwitness.org/clifton-spargo/) - OUR TEAM R. Clifton Spargo Co-Founder, Director of Writing Programs, Workshop Instructor A novelist, short story writer, music and cultural critic, and rock ’n’ roll enthusiast, Clifton Spargo is an expert in testimony and ethics and a dedicated teacher of creative writing. He is the author of the novel Beautiful Fools, which Pulitzer Prize-winner Andrew
- [Terms and Conditions](https://storyandwitness.org/terms-conditions/) - Terms and Conditions Last Updated: Oct. 11, 2024 Welcome, and thank you for your interest in The Center for Story & Witness. (“CSW,” “the Center,” “we,” or “us”) and our website at www.storyandwitness.org, along with our related websites and other services provided by us (collectively, the “Service”). These Terms of Service are a legally binding contract
- [Privacy Policy](https://storyandwitness.org/privacy-policy/) - Privacy Policy When you visit our website, www.storyandwitness.org, and use our services, you trust us with your personal information. We take your privacy very seriously. In this privacy policy, we seek to explain to you in the clearest way possible what information we collect, how we use it and what rights you have in relation
- [Contact](https://storyandwitness.org/contact/) - CONTACT US We can’t wait to hear from you Send a message FIRST NAME *LAST NAME *EMAIL ADDRESS *INQUIRY TOPIC Choose a topicTestimonial Writing ProgramNarrative Advocacy TrainingsPerformancesPublicationsLiterary Conversation SeriesSocial Change CampaignsTeachers Training InstituteCorporate SponsorshipDevelopment CommitteeVolunteerOtherYOUR MESSAGE Are you concerned your internet usage might be monitored? YesNoALTERNATE WAY TO CONTACT YOU MessageSUBMIT ❯ Contact information Center
- [Louder Together](https://storyandwitness.org/louder-together/) - LOUDER TOGETHER A Crowdsourced Poetry Initiative Creating performances & poetry that speak to issues of human rights & social justice LOUDER TOGETHER A Crowdsourced Poetry Initiative Creating performances & poetry that speak to issues of human rights & social justice About Louder Together Who can participate Activists, writers, and survivors of social injustice are all

## Categories

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