History of The Story Collider

2010

Physicists Ben Lillie and Brian Wecht host the first Story Collider show in New York City.
Along with podcast producer Rose Eveleth, Ben hosts and produces the first episode of the Story Collider podcast.

Storyteller and editor Erin Barker begins working with Ben and Brian to produce monthly shows in New York City, as well as the podcast.
The Story Collider holds its first show in Boston.

The Story Collider becomes a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, with Ben, Brian, and Erin as founding board members.
The Story Collider holds its first show outside the U.S., in the U.K.
Journalist Ari Daniel joins Story Collider as our first freelance producer, to support our shows in Boston.

Erin begins working for Story Collider full-time, as a senior producer.
Ben and Erin speak at TEDMED at the Kennedy Center in D.C. along with two of our storytellers.

The Story Collider begins leading storytelling workshops, informed by the story coaching approach we developed for our shows, for clients such as Rockefeller University and Sequenom.

Science communicator Liz Neeley joins Story Collider’s staff as its first executive director, coleading the organization with Artistic Director Ben Lillie.
The Story Collider begins holding regular shows in D.C.

Ben Lillie steps back from day-to-day operations of The Story Collider to found Caveat, a theater in New York City, though he remains president of Story Collider’s Board of Directors.
Erin Barker becomes Artistic Director and coleads the organization with Liz Neeley.
The Story Collider begins holding regular shows in Los Angeles.

The Story Collider begins holding regular shows in Atlanta and Toronto, and in St. Louis, in partnership with St. Louis Public Radio.
Erin takes over as host of the Story Collider podcast. Because we’re now holding more than fifty shows per year, we begin to include two stories per episode rather than one.

The Story Collider begins holding regular shows in Vancouver.
Marine biologist Lindsay Cooper joins the staff as operations manager.
The Story Collider holds its first Producers Retreat, gathering its producers from all over the world in Ocean City, New Jersey.

The Story Collider begins holding regular shows in Chicago, Seattle, and Dallas.
Liz joins Erin as cohost of the Story Collider podcast in September.
Sally Wheeler Maier becomes president of Story Collider’s Board of Directors.

As the COVID-19 pandemic begins, The Story Collider hosts its first online show on March 20. (All in-person shows are canceled for the remainder of the year.)
In August, The Story Collider begins offering online workshops to the public.
Louie Rivers III becomes president of Story Collider’s Board of Directors in August.
In August, Executive Director Liz Neeley leaves the organization, and arts nonprofit veteran Leslie Griesbach-Schultz becomes interim executive director that fall.

The Story Collider holds its first Proton Prom fundraiser (virtually).
Story Collider’s Board of Directors appoints Artistic Director Erin Barker as the organization’s new executive director, and she assumes a hybrid executive director/artistic director role.
Arts nonprofit professional Ann Marie Lonsdale joins the staff as managing director.
Anthropologist Edith Gonzalez becomes Story Collider’s inaugural Science Advisory Fellow.
The Story Collider begins gradually returning to in-person stages in the summer.

Eric Jankowski becomes president of Story Collider’s Board of Directors.
The Story Collider wins two Anthem Awards for our work fostering diversity and inclusion in science through the art of personal storytelling.
Misha Gajewski becomes primary host of the Story Collider podcast, and is joined by supporting hosts Katherine J. Wu, Gastor Almonte, and Eric Jankowski.
The Story Collider establishes advisory boards for its Education program, as well as for its shows and podcast.