Hosted By: Krystal Lee & J. Robin Moon Guests: Luis Ortega (Storytellers for Change) and Ashley Ellis (The BREATHE Collective) To kick off our Season 3, which is all about envisioning the future, we brought back Luis Ortega of Storytellers for Change (from Season 1, Episode 2), who has been IRL’s storytelling trainer and advisor for about a year and a half. He was joined by Ashley Ellis of The BREATHE Collective, who has been our Restorative Justice Coach for almost three years. The stories that will be shared in Season 3 are IRL fellows’ and alumni’s visions for the future, based on the community-engaged, community-centered research they have been doing - that they talked about in Season 2. So why do we bring these two important people onto this episode? Because they are the ones with whom our fundamental shift of mental model happened. Because Restorative Justice principles helped us create the bedrock - a space where everyone feels part of a community, where all our needs are met, where people and relationships are centered and prioritized - on which we told and shared our stories. Stories told over and over become narratives; narratives spread over time become mental models; and mental models become the foundation of the systems we create. So if we want to change or shift systems, storytelling has to be a part of the process. Guests: Luis Ortega (he/them) is a multidisciplinary storyteller, educator, facilitator, narrative strategist, and the founder and director at Storytellers for Change. Over the last 16 years, Luis has worked with youth, educators, and cross-sector leaders to harness the power of narrative to co-imagine, craft, and share stories to build an equitable world. His research and consulting work focuses on asset-based storytelling, racial equity, narrative change, healing, culturally responsive education, leadership, and organizational development. His work, writing, and projects have been featured at the Harvard DACA Seminar, HBO’s “Where Do You Exist?” podcast, the Kauffman Foundation’s Disruptor Speaker Series, the Seattle Design Festival, and The People’s Practice magazine. Luis is a W K. Kellogg Foundation’s Community Leadership Network Fellow, Co-Director of La Cima Bilingual Leadership Camp, and co-founder of the Expresión Storytelling Fellowship at the Latinx Education Collaborative. They also serve on the board of directors of School’s Out Washington. Luis has a BA in Political Science from the University of Washington and a Master’s in Education Leadership from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Luis was born and raised in Tenochtitlan (Mexico City) and now lives in the unceded and ancestral lands of the Duwamish and Coast Salish people (Seattle). Ashley Ellis (Her/She) was born and raised on the West Side of Chicago, is the proud daughter of Lizzie and the late Bailey Ellis S. She is an Angel Mama, devoted Wife, TT, Sista Friend to many. Ashley is the Co-Founder and Visionary of The BREATHE Collective and leads BREATHE Circles LLC, where her work focuses on making restorative justice and peacemaking accessible to youth, schools, organizations, and communities across the nation. Ashley has over a decade of experience as a Restorative Justice Practitioner, Circle Keeper, Transformative Healing Facilitator, and Community Builder. Her soul work, expressed through BREATHE, centers on developing African and Indigenous restorative spaces through circles, particularly for Black women, girls, and gender-expansive youth. As a consultant and trainer, she has been instrumental in shaping New York City’s Restorative Justice movement, fostering cultural shifts in schools and organizations. Ashley is also the co-creator of the Who Keeps the Keeper Initiative, a space dedicated to supporting frontline community and justice practitioners, grounded in healing justice and community care. She is currently pursuing her PhD in Community, Liberation, Indigenous, and Eco-Psychology at Pacifica Graduate Institute, further expanding her understanding of healing justice and community transformation. Mentioned: * IRL LinkedIn Page * IRL Promising Practices Podcast Page * Storytellers for Change, Luis Ortega * The BREATHE Collective, Ashley Ellis * Four Pivots, Shawn Ginwright * Emergent Strategy, adrienne maree brown * Presencing institute * Bayo Akomolafe Thoughts? Suggestions? Email us at researchleaders@umn.edu You can find show notes, transcripts, and more episodes of “Promising Practices for Health Equity” at Promising Practices for Health Equity Podcast: Introduction - Interdisciplinary Research Leaders. This episode of “Promising Practices for Health Equity” was produced by Studio Americana, and prepared by Cody Cotton, Mandy LaBreche, Krystal Lee, and J. Robin Moon of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Interdisciplinary Research Leaders Podcast Team. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit irlpodcast.substack.com
