Our Leadership

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 five books that grew out of his public radio documentary work, including three New York Times best sellers: Listening Is an Act of Love (2007), Mom: A Celebration of Mothers from StoryCorps, and All There Is: Love Stories from StoryCorps (2012); as well as Ties That Bind: Stories of Love and Gratitude From the First Ten Years of StoryCorps (2013) and Callings: The Purpose and Passion of Work (2016). In 2015, Dave was recognized with the TED Prize, awarded annually to one exceptional individual with a creative, bold vision to spark global change. For speaking engagement inquiries, Dave is represented by The Tuesday Agency.

Sandra Clark

Chief Executive Officer

Sandy joined StoryCorps as CEO in February 2022, working in tandem with Dave Isay, StoryCorps’ Founder and President. As CEO and reporting directly to StoryCorps’ Board of Directors, Sandy strives to advance the mission of StoryCorps: to preserve and share humanity’s stories in order to build connections between people and create a more just and compassionate world. As CEO, she nurtures and builds upon a high-performing organizational culture devoted to diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility, operational efficiency and improvement, continuously building relationships with the public to serve their needs relevantly and impactfully.

Prior to joining StoryCorps, Sandy was the Vice President for News and Civic Dialogue at WHYY in Philadelphia. There she led WHYY’s news operation across all platforms, including radio, TV, web, and digital, and worked collaboratively with teams to expand and diversify local audiences and national program carriage, grow revenue and build membership, and amplify the station’s brand and positioning. 

She is a leading voice in journalism, challenging norms and practices that create barriers to building trust and meaningful, sustainable connections with communities. She is credited with having been the primary driver of the station’s diversity, cultural competency, community engagement, and trust-building efforts. Her innovative mutual-aid engagement approach with local content creators and communities of color drew national recognition as model for stations across the country.

As Managing Editor at the Philadelphia Inquirer prior to joining WHYY, Sandra was a member of both the executive committee and the newsroom senior leadership team. She facilitated ethical collaboration between the business and editorial sides of the company as the founder of the cross-departmental Innovation team. She led the paper to a 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.

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.

Lisa Stein

Chief Financial & Administrative Officer

Lisa Stein joined StoryCorps in September 2019. She has over 20 years’ experience in various local and national organizations that share a common mission to empower people disenfranchised due to poverty, race, disability, or other barriers, and to assist them to achieve greater self-sufficiency. Prior to StoryCorps, Lisa was the COO at Lantern Community Services where she managed finance, human resources, IT, program operations, and security. She is a graduate of Brandeis University and earned her master’s degree in Business Administration with a certificate in Nonprofit and Public Management at Boston University.

Lisa Kennedy

Chief Development Officer

Lisa Kennedy joined StoryCorps in 2018. She has 20 years’ experience in development and law, beginning her career at a litigation firm in Minneapolis before transitioning to fundraising in New York City. Lisa’s prior fundraising experience includes work at Mount Sinai Medical Center, where she contributed toward a successful $1B campaign. Lisa is a graduate of St. Thomas University, where she also earned her law degree.

Mary Beth Smith

Chief Marketing Officer

Mary Beth Smith is the chief marketing officer at StoryCorps where she leads the organization’s audience expansion, content distribution, revenue growth, and customer service initiatives. In her previous position as chief marketing and audience engagement officer at Oakland Museum of California (OMCA), she was responsible for directing the Museum’s marketing, communications, education, and visitor services functions. Before joining OMCA, Mary Beth served as director of marketing, communications and audience engagement at San Francisco Ballet, one of the nation’s leading professional ballet companies. While there, she was instrumental in driving a 35% increase in earned revenue while reducing expenses relative to revenue.Smith has also held executive-level marketing positions at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) and San Francisco’s celebrated contemporary multidisciplinary art space, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (YBCA). Mary Beth holds an M.B.A. from University of San Francisco and a B.A. from the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee.

Kathrina Proscia

Director, Executive Office & Board Liaison

Kathrina Proscia began working at StoryCorps in 2006. With over 25 years’ experience in supporting C-level executives, she has held positions in the industries of advertising, import/export, and airline catering services. Kathrina is a graduate of Empire State College with a major in historical studies. A native New Yorker, born in Brooklyn, she resides in Queens, New York, with her husband, daughter, and the cutest chihuahua ever.