StoryCorps » About » Our Team

Executive Team

Dave Isay,
Founder & President

Dave Isay is the founder of StoryCorps and the recipient of numerous broadcasting honors, including five Peabody Awards and a MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship. He is the author/editor of four books that grew out of his public radio documentary work, including the first-ever StoryCorps book, Listening Is an Act of Love, a New York Times bestseller.

Donna Galeno,
Director, Programs

Donna Galeno worked for twenty years at the American Red Cross in Greater New York, managing their Homeless Services Department. Her work focused on two major areas: the creation, development and management of nationally-recognized models of service for homeless families, and the shaping of public policy and awareness related to housing and homelessness throughout the United States. She has served in leadership positions on numerous boards, coalitions and committees focused on issues of housing, homelessness, and hunger. Subsequent to the tragic events of September 11th, Donna functioned as the American National Red Cross’ first Administrator in charge of creating and implementing the Red Cross’ Long-Term Recovery Program.

Sharyanne McSwain,
Director, Finance & Administration

Sharyanne McSwain has more than twenty years of financial services and business operations experience, working in financial engineering, financial services marketing, municipal finance, and equity research in the for-profit sector. Her love for the stories of everyday people and her desire to support the mission of StoryCorps inspired her move from Wall Street to the nonprofit sector in 2008. Sharyanne received an M.B.A. from INSEAD, the business school in France, and currently serves on the school’s Board of Trustees. As a Trustee, she is responsible for alumni fundraising efforts in the United States. She also received a B.A. in Urban Studies from Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts.

Kathrina C. Proscia,
Special Assistant to the President

Kathrina Proscia graduated with an A.O.S. in business/occupational studies from the Wood Tobe Coburn School, Manhattan and received her B.S. with a major in historical studies from Empire State College. Kathrina has held executive assistant positions at Ted Bates Advertising, Agrexco (USA) Ltd., SAGE Foods, and Sun World International. Kathrina was also a substitute teacher, co-founded and chaired her parish golf outing for eight years, and was president of the PTA. Kathrina and her husband of twenty-five years live in Queens with their two daughters.

Administration Staff

Stephanie Roth,
Manager, Administration

Stephanie Roth joined StoryCorps in 2008 after receiving an MPA from the School of Public Affairs at Baruch College, CUNY. Stephanie has worked at several nonprofit organizations based in New York City and continues to show her passion for the nonprofit sector through volunteer work. Stephanie holds a B.A. in Philosophy, Politics, and Law from Binghamton University, SUNY.

Kenisha Fearon,
Office Manager

Kenisha Fearon moved to New York from Jamaica, West Indies. She is currently finishing up her B.A in Hospitality Tourism & Travel at New York City College of Technology CUNY. Before joining the StoryCorps team she worked as a personal trainer at Bally Total Fitness, where she looked forward to the daily stories from her clients. She was also the office manager for the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council.

Business Development Staff

Alissa Pelc,
Manager, Business Development

Alissa joined StoryCorps in 2008 with extensive experience in development and communications. Most recently she served as an American India Foundation Fellow working with several NGOs in Pune, India dedicated to issues of HIV/AIDS and prior to that worked in New York City as the Senior Development Associate for Mercy Corps, an international relief and development agency. Born and raised in Philadelphia, Alissa earned a B.A. in English from Boston University and is thrilled to be a part of the StoryCorps team.

Abby Lesnick,
Associate, Business Development

Born in New York and raised in Philadelphia, Abby returned to her roots when her passion for storytelling led her to become a Creative Writing English Major at New York University. Abby came to StoryCorps in June 2008 as the first member of the new Business Development department. She brings years of administrative and development experience in New York City nonprofits, which ranged from a downtown experimental theater to working with Middle School public education and technology.

Kate Brown,
Coordinator, Business Development

Kate Brown grew up in Fredericksburg, Virginia. At Wesleyan University she studied pop music, shopping malls, and Graceland, earning a B.A. in American Studies and Sociology. After two years working on dictionaries and encyclopedias (and padding her Trivial Pursuit record), she joined StoryCorps’ Door-to-Door team. Kate lives in Brooklyn where she mostly bakes cupcakes for her kickball team.

Community Outreach Staff

Adam Wilson,
Manager, Community Outreach

Adam Wilson joins the StoryCorps senior team after almost ten years of union and community organizing, most recently as the Managing Director of the Prewitt Organizing Fund (POF). Before POF, he worked for UNITE! and the Offshore Mariners United in campaigns around the United States. Until Hurricane Katrina, Adam lived in New Orleans and was a member of Community Labor United and the Frederick Douglas Coalition, a multi-racial, multi-generational organization committed to social change through Story Circles. A recent arrival to Brooklyn, Adam is proud to join the Outreach team and contribute to the realization of the StoryCorps mission. He is originally from Wisconsin, and a graduate of the University of Wisconsin.

Melvin Reeves,
Associate Director, Program Planning and Evaluation

For nearly twenty-five years, Melvin Reeves held leadership positions within the American Red Cross. In 1985, he created and managed the social services department for a ninety-unit motel converted into temporary housing for single, homeless mothers with children. He then served as the Director of HELP I, a 200-unit emergency housing program for homeless families, before becoming the Director of Disaster Services for the American Red Cross in Greater New York. In addition to managing the Red Cross response to TWA Flight 800 and numerous other disasters, he also created the statewide disaster response plan for the Red Cross in New York. In 2001, he was working with the Bay Area Red Cross when he was urged to return to New York City because of September 11th. He subsequently created and managed the social services department for the organization’s long-term recovery program for September 11th clients, serving more than 10,000 individuals in fifty states and sixty-five other countries. In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, he designed a long-term recovery plan for the American National Red Cross. Melvin graduated from Harvard College in 1979 with a B.A. in psychology and social relations.

Perri Chinalai,
Senior Coordinator, Memory Loss Initiative

Perri comes from a background in the arts. She studied Photography and Art History at the Rhode Island School of Design and Media Studies at the New School University. Her recent projects include a video documentary about her Thai aunt/nanny who has Alzheimer’s Disease and photography/video work that explores immigrant experiences in the U.S. Perri is a hospice volunteer in NYC, loves to run, bake vegan desserts (even though she is not vegan) and spend time with her family. She is thrilled to be part of the Memory Loss Initiative and to support innovative ways to partner with people and organizations from around the country.

Development Staff

Viviana Bianchi,
Manager, Foundation & Corporate Relations

Viviana, a native of Argentina, joined our Development department as Manager of Foundation and Corporate Relations in May 2009. Viviana has extensive experience in fundraising and nonprofit management across all sectors, as well as deep expertise in working with foundations and corporations. Most recently, Viviana worked as the Florida Director of Development for People For the American Way Foundation and for the National Council of La Raza’s program Democracia USA. She was a program officer at the Funding Exchange Paul Robeson Fund for Independent Media, and has been a nonprofit management and fundraising consultant in both New York and Argentina. Viviana holds an M.A. in Cinema Studies from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, and a Certificate in Media and Culture from NYU’s Anthropology Department. Viviana is delighted to support the work that StoryCorps is doing to preserve personal stories of everyday Americans and create the largest media oral history archive in the nation.

Christa Orth,
Development Associate

Christa comes to StoryCorps from Portland, Oregon where she worked in development offices at the Equity Foundation and REACH Community Development. After receiving her Master’s degree in history from the University of Oregon, she served on the faculty at Portland State University where she taught courses in gender studies and oral history. Christa has an extensive background in individual giving and loves working with donors to preserve the amazing stories of everyday people.

Mitra Keykhah,
Administrative Assistant

Mitra comes to StoryCorps with a public radio background. She has volunteered and worked for NPR stations in Philadelphia and Washington, DC. After completing her Master’s degree at the London School of Economics and the University of Southern California, she returned to the east coast and is delighted to join the Development department at StoryCorps. Mitra has long been interested in history and memory, having done her Princeton undergraduate thesis on the impact of war memorials on the creation of a national memory. StoryCorps has given Mitra the unique opportunity to combine her interests in history, memory, public broadcasting, and development.

Finance Staff

Ed Schemitsch,
Manager, Finance

Ed, who is a CPA, comes to StoryCorps with many years of financial management experience as vice president of finance, chief financial officer, and auditor in the financial services sector. Recently, Ed had been working with community development credit unions to improve their accounting practices and procedures. He was also a personal financial counselor for a nonprofit organization that helps low-to-moderate income families achieve their financial goals.

Human Resources Staff

Megan Thiele,
Generalist, Human Resources

Megan joined StoryCorps in the summer of 2008, moving to New York after a lifetime spent in the South. Megan’s lifelong love of the written and spoken word led her to pursue a BA in English with a minor in Linguistics from the University of Texas at Austin. Now, at StoryCorps, she is able to combine her interests in interpersonal communication, nonprofit administration, and personal histories in her role as an HR Generalist. Prior to joining StoryCorps, Megan was an HR Administration Analyst at Dell, Inc. in Round Rock, Texas.

IT Staff

Dean Haddock,
Manager, Information Technology

Originally from the small town of Denton, Texas, Dean Haddock brings to StoryCorps over twelve years of Information Technology experience. As the founder of two online businesses and a scholarly peer reviewed journal, Dean is passionate about technology, especially as it relates to the academic community. He joins us from the financial consulting industry after graduating from the University of North Texas in 2005 with a MS in Political Science. He also recently served as the Chairman of the Texas Leadership Forum, an organization dedicated to equipping young people for a life of public service. Dean is an advocate for a platform-agnostic, open-source environment, and you can find him occasionally blogging about his technological leanings here.

Mike DeFalco,
Coordinator, Information Technology

Mike DeFalco originally joined StoryCorps as an intern in 2007. He is now the Information Technology Coordinator and responsible for troubleshooting, maintaining and improving StoryCorps’ infrastructure. He has a meticulous approach to IT, and works tirelessly to support the mission of our organization. From 2003-2008, Mike was a DJ and founder of many popular internet radio programs. He is also a graduate from the Institute of Audio Research where he studied audio production and recording. Mike has since retired his turntables and now focuses on his own original music.

Joshua Ranger,
Data Coordinator

Joshua wrangles data at StoryCorps, manipulating the structure and visual display of information to enable efficient cataloging and access. He has plied his trade of information/knowledge organization and distribution in fields as varied as insurance, digital archiving, venture capital, and ESL instruction, and has worked most recently as a Media Preservation & Database Consultant with AudioVisual Preservation Solutions. Joshua earned MAs in Moving Image Archiving & Preservation from NYU and in American Studies from the University of Virginia, and his BA in English from the University of Oregon. He grew up in small southern Oregon logging towns where his childhood interests were puzzles, seam rippers, and Creature Feature Week on KTVU’s Dialing for Dollars Afternoon Movie.

Marketing & Communications

Dalton Rooney,
Webmaster

Dalton comes to StoryCorps from the Corporation for Supportive Housing, where he was Director of Information Technology for five years. He is currently finishing up his B.A. in art with a concentration in photography at Brooklyn College.

Katie McGowan,
Senior Coordinator, Participant Relations

Katie McGowan comes from a family of Ham Radio operators, genealogists, and public servicemen and women. She found her niche at StoryCorps in February 2006, listening to the stories of participants, supporting our reservations, StoryKit, and inquiries systems. She has worked for WNYC’s Brian Lehrer Show, New Jerseyans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, and United Indians of All Tribes Foundation in Seattle, WA. She holds a B.A. from Smith College and is currently pursuing an M.A. in Media Studies at the New School. In her spare time, she enjoys textile crafts and yoga. You can see her media related ramblings on her blog.

Stacey Edelstein,
Senior Coordinator, Marketing

Stacey grew up in San Diego, California and earned a B.S. in Communication from the University of Miami, Florida. Prior to joining StoryCorps in 2008, Stacey worked in public relations, marketing, and event planning that specialized in modern art and industrial design. She is also an active member of the New York Open Center and a collaborator and designer for WideSky Designs.

Sacha Evans,
Participant Relations Assistant

Sacha Evans has worked for a variety of media and international affairs organizations. After completing her journalism degree at George Washington University, she served as a research assistant to veteran journalist Marvin Kalb at Harvard University and worked at National Public Radio in Washington, D.C. In 2007 she traveled between Germany and South Africa as a media consultant. She comes from a family of car mechanics and acrobats, who taught her the importance of sharing stories.

Mobile Staff

Eliza Bettinger,
Manager, Mobile Department

Eliza Bettinger came to Sound Portraits as a production intern. She joined the fledging Mobile team in September 2004. Previously, she was a newspaper reporter whose beats included the Akwesasne Mohawk Nation and the U.S./Canadian border. She has a B.S. in biology from Cornell University, and hails from southern Jefferson County, New York.

Mitra Bonshahi,
Senior Coordinator

Mitra Bonshahi developed an ear for listening while working at a 24-hour diner in her hometown of Chicago. She grew to appreciate the colorful stories she heard from the local patrons, which led her to become a Facilitator for StoryCorps in 2006. After roaming the country recording stories, she was inspired to become a part of the Mobile staff where her natural affinity for traveling and working with public radio stations continues to flourish.

Jenna Weiss-Berman,
Senior Coordinator

Jenna Weiss-Berman was born and raised in Northampton, Massachusetts. She moved to Brooklyn after graduating from Oberlin College where she studied politics and was the proud Station Manager of WOBC, Oberlin’s college and community radio station. She joined StoryCorps in 2006 and was a Facilitator for over a year, spending eight months out on the open road in StoryCorps’ MobileBooths. Her experiences on Mobile inspired her to join the Mobile Team, and there she remains.

Read blog posts from our MobileBooth Facilitators.

Production Staff

Michael Garofalo,
Senior Producer

Michael Garofalo fell for New York’s panoply of voices while teaching English as a Second Language, Literacy, and Writing in schools throughout the city. He was a StoryCorps intern and facilitator before joining Production in 2004. Michael also makes music using radios—among other things—as a member of the electro-acoustic duo Latitude/Longitude. He is a Transmission Artist with the nonprofit arts organization free103point9.

Katie Simon,
Associate Producer

Before Katie joined StoryCorps in 2005, she worked as a development officer and reporter for WBGO Jazz 88.3 FM, and as a freelancer for NPR’s JazzSet with Dee Dee Bridgewater. Prior to that she attended Kenyon College; she graduated with a degree in American Studies and Anthropology and was awarded a Henry G. Dalton Fellowship. Katie grew up in New Jersey and continues to reside on the Hudson’s west bank.

Nadia Reiman,
Producer

Nadia graduated from Kenyon College with a double major in International Studies and Spanish Literature. Before joining StoryCorps, she was the associate producer for the Washington-based Spanish language radio show Epicentro. She also reported and covered Latino issues in Congress. In addition to obsessing over the sound of sneakers hitting gravel, Nadia is an avid blogger, traveler, and an occasional DJ and translator. She hails from San Jose, Costa Rica.

Lizzie Jacobs,
Editor

Lizzie Jacobs hails from Chicago and got her start at StoryCorps as a production intern. Before StoryCorps, she was an editor in educational publishing and taught in various educational nonprofits, mostly with middle schoolers. Lizzie got her B.A. at Williams College and her MFA in Creative Writing at the New School. When not at StoryCorps, she writes essays and is currently working on a book of profiles of American eccentrics.

Vanara Taing,
Associate Producer

Vanara Taing first joined StoryCorps as a Facilities and Archive Coordinator. In that role, she trained facilitators on sound recording and managed StoryBooths. Vanara has also published and produced documentaries on the Cambodian refugee experience. Her film, bloodlines, was selected for the 2006 Portland Documentary and eXperimental Film Festival. She holds a B.A. from Scripps College and an Ed.M. from Harvard University.

Chanda Khatso,
Production Assistant

Having spent most of his early life in-between England and Zimbabwe Chandapiwa Edward Lucian Khatso is a self-described global citizen. After completing his undergraduate studies at the University of Bristol, Chanda briefly moved to London before making the move to San Francisco for graduate school. Before Governor Schwarzenegger’s signature on his Masters in Radio and Television was dry, Chanda had set sail for New York to pursue a career in radio, where he would hold positions at ABC Radio News, the BBC and PRI before arriving at StoryCorps.

Lily Percy,
Production Assistant

The daughter of Colombian missionaries, Lily Percy grew up in Miami where she graduated with a B.A. in English and a Film Studies certificate from Florida International University. Lily first fell in love with public radio as an intern at NPR’s Arts and Information Desk, thanks largely in part to one of her mentors, Felix Contreras. Her radio work has been featured on NPR’s Latino USA, Epicentro, a Spanish language radio show based in Washington, D.C., and on WNYC’s Soundcheck. Lily has also contributed to MovieMaker, Esquire, and NPR’s Song of the Day. In addition to her passion for radio and storytelling, Lily loves movies, books, and Bruce Springsteen.

Eve Claxton,
Production Researcher

Eve was born in London, England, and moved to New York in 1995. A graduate of Manchester University in the UK, she has a professional background as a magazine journalist and co-writer on non-fiction book projects. Before coming to StoryCorps, Eve served as the editor of The Book of Life, an anthology of memoir writing published by Random House, where she indulged her love for first-person narratives. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two daughters.

Recording & Archive Staff

Nick Yulman,
Manager, Recording & Archive

Nick Yulman grew up in Philadelphia, and studied English and studio art at Wesleyan University. Starting at StoryCorps as a Facilitator, he spent four months on the Mobile Tour, traveling between Chicago and Gulfport, Mississippi, before returning to Brooklyn to join the Recording & Archive team. Nick’s long-standing interest in sound also finds an outlet in his creative work involving musical automata.

Desiree Leary,
Senior Coordinator, Archive

Desiree has developed a fondness for archives and collections over the past several years. Previously she managed the archiving department for a photo-retouching studio, restored and cataloged video, and worked with various collections of art and rare books. Currently Desiree enjoys caring for all of the stories that come to StoryCorps (among her other Recording and Archive duties). She holds a BFA in Studio Art from Alfred University, is working towards a MLIS at Rutgers with a concentration in digital libraries, has dabbled in architecture, and wishes she could master speaking Mandarin. She currently lives in Brooklyn with her dog Leela.

Michael Dougherty,
Coordinator, Recording

Mike Dougherty moved to New York from Herndon, Virginia, to study music technology and journalism at New York University. Before joining the team at StoryCorps, he spent two years working at New York University’s Avery Fisher Center for Music and Media and interning at various local publications. He is now a contributing writer for the Brooklyn-based L Magazine.

Talya Cooper,
Coordinator, Archive

Talya Cooper grew up in Ohio and New Jersey and earned her B.A. in anthropology at Barnard College. Currently finishing a Master’s degree in library and information science at Pratt Institute, she has worked at a number of New York City’s finest academic libraries, archives, and video stores. She has also served as a staff member at several local independent radio stations, including WBAR at Barnard and Washington Heights Free Radio.

StoryBooth & Door-to-Door Staff

Elaine Davenport,
Manager, StoryBooth & Door-to-Door

Elaine Davenport came to StoryCorps in 2006 with a background in youth development and workshop facilitation gained from over four years at the Posse Foundation. She started as a Facilitator, moved on to marketing, and has now dedicated herself to helping organizations and groups host recording days on site as head of the Door-to-Door department. She is thrilled at this opportunity to help make the StoryCorps experience more accessible to people across the country.

Sylvie Lubow,
Senior Coordinator, StoryBooth & Door-to-Door

Sylvie Lubow was born and raised on the streets of Brooklyn, New York. Surrounded from an early age by culture and clamor, Sylvie quickly developed affinities for chance encounters, subway conversations and the general eccentricities of city life. After earning a B.A in English from Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Sylvie returned to her native land where she dabbled in teaching before joining the StoryCorps team in 2007. Beyond 80 Hanson, Sylvie likes to explore the world of lexicography, makes a mean batch of popcorn, and has been known to rock a microphone or two.

Veronica Ordaz,
Site Supervisor, New York City StoryBooth

A Guatemalan and native New Yorker, Veronica has worked directly with people in various settings, from translating for non-English speakers in New York City courtrooms to teaching pre-schoolers to rock-climb. She has knocked on doors informing people about environmental and public health issues in New York, instructed high-school students in creating and running after-school programs for children, and more. She put all these experiences to use as a StoryCorps Facilitator from 2005-2006 and maintains her love of people and stories.

Read blog posts from our StoryBooth & Door-to-Door Facilitators.