our student storytellers

Tiffany Michels

8th grade, Spring Grove, MN

Lillian Carlson

11th grade, Houston, MN

our  rural  storytelling  program  team

olivia hoff

Program Assistant
Undergraduate, Public History & Policy @ UW-La Crosse

Erin Dorbin

Program Coordinator & Instructor
Web Page Creator

our community professionals

john weiss

Reporter & Author

courtney bergey

Economic & Rural Arts Development Specialist

sean  Kearny

Program Photographer, Kollective

Joe  Ahlquist

Photographer & Multimedia Journalist
(photo by Tiffany Michels)

alyssa  auten

Historian & Historic Preservationist

william  fried

Board of Directors, Giants of the Earth Heritage Center

melissa  wray

Podcaster & Local Rural Arts Professional

ian  ehrnstrom

Web GIS Specialist + Cartographer

Ashley Hanson

Director of PlaceBase Productions &
​Department of Public Transformation
(She's also an Obama Fellow! Whoo-hoo!)