Our Sessions for STORY:GNV 2020 have not been announced yet. In the meantime, check out our sessions from 2018 below!

Session Descriptions

We are very excited to share information about all ten of our amazing presentations at STORY:GNV 2018. Learn more about each of our keynotes and tracks below!

Please note, the order that these talks are in is not necessarily the order that they will be in on October 13. The full schedule will be announced at a later date.

Keynote Panel

This year, for our Keynote, we will be presenting a panel titled Gainesville – What’s the Story, and What do we want to see? In this panel, we will be bringing together leaders from different spaces in Gainesville to discuss a topic of their choosing that they feel is important to consider as we move forward as a community.

Inclusive Recreation

Presented by Nicole Harris

Trauma Informed Community

Presented by Karin Fields

Intentional Community Development

Presented by Jacob Larson

Personal Growth Track

Taking Back the Stories of Our Lives: A Glimpse at Narrative Therapy and Its Gifts

Presented by Sarah Kate Wilder

Imagine for a moment that you’re walking down the street and a stranger is walking towards you at a fast pace while staring down at their phone. You do your best to avoid them but they still bump into you. Hard. You stand there for a moment, reeling from the throbbing in your shoulder and arm. They don’t stop or acknowledge you, they just keep walking.
In that moment, what do you think? How do you respond?
We (humans) are meaning making machines. We fill in the gaps. Our lives and identities are shaped by three things: the meaning we give to our experiences, the language we use to story our lives, and the situation we occupy in our social structures in particular the power relations in these structures.
In this workshop, participants will get to dive into these concepts as derived from narrative therapy and apply them to their own life. Through this process, new stories will emerge offering hope, growth, and possibilities.

From Contempt to Compassion: Using the Enneagram to Deepen Understanding and Build Connection

Presented by Karin Fields, Ph.D., LMHC

In our current cultural climate, contempt is a common emotional reaction to people with ideas, values, and backgrounds that differ from our own. We are different. Pretending otherwise is not honoring to our uniqueness or our individual and collective stories. But to simply know we are different is not enough. We need to honor our differences by growing in compassion and building genuine connections.

In this session, I will discuss how the Enneagram, an ancient personality typology that encompasses nine ways of seeing and responding to the world, can be used to deepen understanding of ourselves and others. By addressing the unique and valuable motivations of each type rather than focusing on behaviors, the Enneagram challenges us to go beneath the surface and acknowledge the dignity and potential of all people. We will consider questions such as, “Why do I continue to react in ways that I know are hurtful or unproductive?” and “Who in my life is the hardest for me to show compassion?”

By presenting a basic overview of the nine types, my hope is that each person who attends will walk out feeling more understood and more understanding, particularly of those who are the hardest for us to move toward. In a world full of contempt, let’s strive to choose compassion.

The End: Death as Part of the Life Story

Presented by Susan Bluck, Ph.D.

We all have our own unique life story. This session focuses on a particular aspect of our life story: the end. The audience is invited to consider two central ways in which the end of the story is important: (i) our loved one’s endings become part of our continuing life story, and (ii) we all face the end – we all die. The fact that humans know that their story will one day end may affect what they do and the stories they tell themselves and others well before their own ‘time is up.’ Research findings, including stories collected in the UF Life Story Lab, are presented to illustrate the importance of death as part of each person’s life story.

Organizational Growth

Creating Compelling Messages for Elected Officials

Presented by Dr. Ricky Telg

Elected officials at the local, state, and national levels create policies and laws that impact all facets of our lives. This presentation provides strategies to create compelling messages for elected officials, including how to engage and communicate with elected officials and how to conduct a visit with elected officials.

Consumers as Changemakers: Leveraging the Power of Business to do Good

Presented by Kristin Joys, Ph.D.

With the overwhelming myriad of options we face as consumers, how do we know when businesses are just telling stories vs. those brands are truly committed to sustainability, responsibility, and creating a positive impact? As consumers in the marketplace, we’ll learn about the power of storytelling and how to make the distinction between brands that tell compelling stories compared to those who authentically walk their talk (hint: aim to buy local and when you can’t, look for certified B Corporations like Patagonia, Ben & Jerry’s, and Warby Parker). Sam McPherson, Gainesville native & Gator Grad, founder of SiftLocal, will join Dr. Joys to share his story of creating SiftLocal, a platform to help consumers connect with local vendors. As Anna Lappe says, “every time you spend money, you’re casting a vote for the kind of world you want.”

Stories At Work

Presented by Ann Scroggie

Thousands of business people worldwide have learned the value of telling their story. Why? Stories access parts of the brain that numbers and statistics never touch enriching facts and data with heart, feeling, meaning and reality. Stories make it personal. They innovate, motivate, lead and empower people to a common goal. Stories promote collaboration and agreement for your shared journey to achievement. They are the script of success for you, for your company and for your brand. Come and discover your stories at work.

Community Growth

Interacting with Connection – Mindful Awareness and Mindful Caregiving

Presented by Martie Gillen, Ph.D.

We hear a lot about mindfulness these days. How can mindful awareness and mindful caregiving influence the way we interact with others? At its core, mindfulness refers to the ability to bring conscious attention and awareness to one’s present experience with non-judgment, acceptance, and compassion. Layer that with being aware of what you bring from your experiences to present interactions and you have mindful caregiving. Research documents the many emotional, mental, and physical benefits of mindfulness as well as the benefits of mindful caregiving. I practice mindful awareness and caregiving 1) to improve my connected skills; 2) because caregiving is hard work; 3) to become more aware of my self-care needs; and 4) to model self-regulation, emotional awareness, and self-compassion for others. Come learn about mindful awareness and mindful caregiving through Martie’s journey as a foster parent and adoptive parent. Fasten your seatbelt and hang on tight… it’s a bumpy road with lots of hills and sharp turns.

Life Redefined

Presented by Alison Ungaro

Storytelling within the context of healing and restoration from trauma, addiction, shame, and exploitation is a powerful tool to finding one’s voice, strength, resilience, and power to inspire. Join Alison Ungaro as she shares how her life has been redefined as she continues to daily discover the realities of Sex Trafficking in our community and cultivates opportunities for women escaping to find a fresh start in life and safe places for sharing life with one another. Through working with exploited women over the past 6 years she has seen how the power of sharing a story not only heals the individual sharing their story, but it heals the whole community who takes part in listening to the heart and life of another.

Inclusion Through Storytelling Panel

Moderated by Jaron Jones, Ph.D.

This panel discussion provides a forum for panel members and participants to have a dialogue about the success, opportunities and challenges of using storytelling to enhance inclusion within our communities and organizations. Discussions will include how we define storytelling for inclusion, methods to enhance inclusion through storytelling, and the impact that we have seen storytelling have on our lives.