How to Partner with Individuals & Communities to Tell Their Own Stories

How to Partner with Individuals & Communities to Tell Their Own Stories
with Kate Marple


Thursday, October 12, 2023
2:00 - 4:00 PM ET

Stories are critical to social change. They show us the human stakes of policy decisions. They offer windows into experiences unlike our own. They make us stop and think, because they first make us feel. For organizations that use storytelling to help change the world, the conversation can’t begin and end with how to tell compelling stories. Organizations need to consider: (1) the impact that sharing can have on the storyteller; (2) how the story is framed; and (3) how people and communities are represented in and affected by those stories. In this interactive webinar, we’ll explore tangible strategies that organizations can adopt to partner with people who use their services to tell whole-person, empathetic narratives about individuals and broader issues.

This webinar will be a mix of presentation and small group discussions in Zoom break-out rooms. Attendees should be prepared to be active participants with cameras on (if possible) for a portion of the training. During the presentation portion of the webinar, attendees can turn cameras off while they listen (and eat if they wish).
 

Kate Marple (she/her/hers) is the principal consultant at Who Tells the Story? where she helps nonprofit organizations create and adopt practices to ensure that the stories they tell are shaped by and benefit people with lived experiences. Her mission is to change how nonprofits approach communications and storytelling—from who is at the table shaping communications values and goals to how people are asked to share their personal stories. From how interviews are conducted to what informed consent in storytelling looks like. From what stories are being told to whose perspective those narratives truly reflect. She believes that communicating for social change can lead to both short- and long-term good and be empowering for communities at the same time if we prioritize partnership and ceding power.

 For nearly a decade, Kate directed communications for the National Center for Medical-Legal Partnership, where she helped create a national movement to reduce health disparities by making access to legal services a standard part of quality health care. She was also previously a communications officer with the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children and the Children’s Mental Health Campaign. Kate is currently a lecturer in the Department of Human Services at Northeastern University where she developed and teaches an undergraduate course in nonprofit communications, and she is the co-director of The Perpetual Visitors Theatre Company in Boston, Massachusetts.

Registration Rates
Each registration fee covers one participant.

MIE Subscribers: $100
Non-subscribers: $150

Group rate discount (MIE subscribers only): Five or more registrants from your organization: $75 each.

Click on the button at the top right to register now.
Registration Deadline: October 11.
*Please note: MIE uses PayPal as its credit card payment processor. PayPal has recently changed their interface to encourage checking out with a PayPal account, however it is still possible to check out as a guest and use your own credit card.* 

Registration Information & Policies
Registration fees are non-refundable. MIE will provide a credit for the full amount of the registration fee, which may be used by any staff at your organization for any future MIE events (trainings, conferences, webinars) or MIE subscription payments. Credits do not expire. An event registration may be transferred to a colleague at the same program prior to the start of the event at no additional cost. Please notify MIE of substitutions as soon as possible. If a registration transfer is not practicable, credit will be provided instead. Registrants who do not cancel before the start of an event will not be credited, however, they will receive access to the event materials. 

If you need assistance during the registration process, please contact Erica M. Szuplat, Administrative Assistant, MIE, at emszuplat@mielegalaid.org.  

For other questions, including accessibility accommodations, contact Jared Smith, Director of Programs, MIE, at jared@mielegalaid.org.