Our Leadership

Executive Team

 

Dave Isay

Founder & President
Dave Isay is the founder of StoryCorps and the recipient of numerous broadcasting honors, including six Peabody Awards and a MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship. He is the author/editor of numerous books that grew out of his public radio documentary work, including the New York Times best sellers: Listening Is an Act of Love (2007), Mom: A Celebration of Mothers from StoryCorps, All There Is: Love Stories from StoryCorps (2012), and Ties That Bind: Stories of Love and Gratitude From the First Ten Years of StoryCorps (2013). In 2015, Dave was recognized with the TED Prize, awarded annually to one exceptional individual with a creative, bold vision to spark global change. In April 2016, the fifth StoryCorps book, Callings: The Purpose and Passion of Work, was released.

For speaking engagement inquiries, Dave is represented by The Tuesday Agency.

 

Robin Sparkman

Chief Executive Officer
Robin Sparkman joined StoryCorps as its first CEO in January 2014. She is a veteran journalist. Most recently, she was the editor in chief of ALM Media’s The American Lawyer, where she oversaw several of ALM’s print and digital national publications and wrote a monthly column on legal business issues. Under her leadership, The American Lawyer won six Jesse Neal awards for journalism. Before joining ALM, she spent five years as an editor for the business and opinion sections of MSNBC.com. Robin was one of the founding members of the site. She is also a former reporter for Newsweek, covering terrorism, the United Nations, and politics.

Robin is a magna cum laude graduate of Wellesley College and Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. She sits on the board of the Union Settlement Association of East Harlem (finance and development committees) and serves on the Wellesley Business Leadership Council. She lives in New York City with her family.

 

Sharyanne McSwain

Chief Financial & Administrative Officer
Sharyanne McSwain has more than 20 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.

 

Lisa V. Gale

Chief Program Officer
Lisa V. Gale came to StoryCorps in 2017. She has more than 25 years of experience in the administration and management of nonprofit organizations in the fields of adult education and community development. Prior to joining StoryCorps, she served as Deputy Commissioner, Employment Services, for the Human Resources Administration of the City of New York, a $200 million employment services division, offering city programs such as Back2Work, Business Link, Training Assistance Group, and more. Before her position with the City, Lisa managed a portfolio of workforce development programs funded by the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone Development Corporation; she worked as the Deputy Executive Director for the Literacy Assistance Center; and held various senior leadership positions at nonprofits focused on adult literacy and community and economic development. Lisa holds a PhD in Social Welfare from The CUNY Graduate Center and an MSW from the Hunter College School of Social Work.

 

Braden Lay-Michaels

Chief External Relations Officer
Braden Lay-Michaels brings more than 20 years of professional experience navigating the corporate, political, and nonprofit fields. Before coming to StoryCorps in 2014, Braden most recently served as Chief Development Officer at GLSEN. Braden began his career at the iconic Voyager Company and Criterion Collection followed by mission-focused work at organizations such as Refugees International, i-SAFE, GLAAD, and Los Angeles Universal Preschool. Braden is a graduate of Loyola Marymount University and received his Master’s Degree from California Institute of the Arts. A native of Southern California, he happily calls New York City home.

Kathrina Proscia

Director, Executive Office
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 and was a substitute teacher for several years while raising her children. Kathrina and her husband live in Queens with their two daughters.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Chair

Gara LaMarche
President, Democracy Alliance

Vice Chair

Dane E. Holmes
Managing Director, Goldman Sachs

Vice Chair

Michael Shuman
Founder and Principal, MASdesign

Treasurer

Jim Moore
Operating Partner, TDR Capital, London

Secretary

Adelaide K. Jones
Principal, Phillips Oppenheim

Founder & President

Dave Isay

Chief Executive Officer

Robin Sparkman

Audrey Choi
Managing Director, Morgan Stanley

Jane Phillips Donaldson
Co-Founder and Principal, Phillips Oppenheim

Sarah Elizabeth Feinberg

Vanita Gupta
President and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights

Anne Herbert Mai

Elizabeth J. McCormack
Advisor, Rockefeller Family & Associates

Scott Mitic
Sitch, Inc.

Blythe Haaga Parker
Independent Writer and Producer

Vic Parker
Managing Director, Spectrum Equity

Kim Rubey
Head of Global Communications and Strategic Engagement, Airbnb

Jill Schlesinger, CFP®
CBS News Business Analyst

Murray Sinclaire, Jr.
President and CEO (Co-Owner), Ross, Sinclaire & Associates, LLC

Justine Stamen Arrillaga
Founder & Chair Emeritus, The TEAK Fellowship

Vanessa Toussaint
Emergency Medicine Physicians (Physician)

Bradley Tusk
CEO, Tusk Holdings

David Wadhwani
President and CEO, AppDynamics

EMERITUS MEMBERS

Former Senator Bill Bradley
Managing Director, Allen & Company LLC

Kevin Klose
President Emeritus of National Public Radio
Dean, University of Maryland’s Philip Merrill College of Journalism

Deborah Leff
Senior Advisor, Equal Justice Initiative

Thomas A. Moore
President and CEO, LifeCuff Technologies, Inc.

In memory of Woody Wickham (1942-2009), founding Board Chair of StoryCorps.