2012 Featured Presenters

Donald Davis

Growing up in the Appalachian Mountains with “characters” for family and friends, Donald Davis lived stories. Now a master of the art, Donald tells stories so personal, you’re sure to find yourself in every one of them—and a friend along the way.

Bil Lepp

Growing up in a family where it was always the responsibility of the listener to decide whether or not a story was true, Bil Lepp became adept at spinning tales and exaggerating circumstances at an early age. Whether he's talking about a plunger, a hunting trip, or a funeral, Bil can find the humor in any situation. A six-time winner of the West Virginia Liars’ contest, Lepp explains that while his stories may not be completely true, they are always honest.

Susan O'Halloran

Susan O’Halloran is a story artist, writer, and the producer of multicultural and award-winning performances and films including More Alike Than Not: Stories of Three Americans – Catholic, Jewish and Muslim. In addition, Sue teaches diversity and inclusion seminars in Fortune 500 companies across the nation. Sue has appeared on PBS and ABC Nightline, has been interviewed by The New York Times and The Chicago Tribune, and has been featured at the National Storytelling Festival.

Antonio Rocha

Antonio Rocha has been performing and teaching for the past two decades. A former pupil of Marcel Marceau and Tony Montanaro, his unique blend of mime and verbal narrative has been presented in major festivals all over the world and across the USA. From Utah to New Zealand, Antonio is a delight to watch and listen.

Additional Guest Presenters:

Cassie Ashton

Cassie Ashton is the mother of five, a storyteller, trainer, mentor, and life coach. She has shared her storytelling and teaching professionally since 1992 and has since served as the Utah Storytelling Guild's president. Cassie's greatest joy is helping others connect to their stories.

Cassie Ashton

Ilene Evans

Ilene Evans, M.A., creates inventive educational storytelling programs that span a vast range of arts disciplines including music, dance, drama, and storytelling, Ms. Evans has taught, lectured, and performed worldwide, but makes her home in West Virginia.

Katherine Farmer

Katherine Farmer has a long history in drama as a director, storyteller, and critic. She has taught at Brigham Young University and Utah Valley University, and was recently the interim director of the Noorda Regional Theater for Children and Youth. She specializes in script and text analysis, children’s literature and theater, and process drama.

Katherine Farmer

Joseph Folkman

Joseph Folkman is cofounder and President of Zenger | Folkman. He holds a Doctorate in Social and Organizational Psychology as well as a Masters Degree in Organizational Behavior.  He has over 30 years of experience consulting with some of the world’s most successful organizations. Mr. Folkman is the author and coauthor of seven books: Turning Feedback Into Change, Making Feedback Work, Employee Surveys that Make a Difference, The Extraordinary Leader, The Handbook for Leaders, The Power of Feedback, and The Inspiring Leader.

John Graham

John Graham has been a theater professional for over twenty years. His has worked as a director, vocal coach, fight choreographer, sound designer, and actor. He is currently an Assistant Professor of voice and movement at Drake University.

John Graham

Mary Hamilton

For over thirty years, Mary Hamilton has been enjoying storytellers, telling stories—many with lots of audience participation—and marveling at how storytelling works.  She is the recipient of the 2009 National Storytelling Network Circle of Excellence Oracle Award.

http://www.maryhamilton.info/

Karla Huntsman

Karla has taught storytelling, theatre, and communication skills in high schools, elementary schools, and universities for over 25 years and has performed and led workshops in numerous festivals, schools, and conferences. She is currently working as a storyteller and drama specialist.

Karla Huntsman

Brandon Mull

The New York Times best selling author of the Beyonders and Fablehaven series, Brandon Mull was able to quit his day job within six months of publishing his first book and begin living his dream of being a full time writer--the magical story of a talented writer!

http://brandonmull.com/

Sherry Norfolk

Sherry Norfolk performs nationally and internationally, introducing audiences to the arts of storytelling and story making with “an ebullient style and energetic command of stage.” An award-winning co-author and teaching artist, Sherry received the 2010 National Storytelling Network Oracle for Distinguished National Service.

http://www.sherrynorfolk.com/

Kerry Patterson

Kerry Patterson is co-founder of VitalSmarts, a Provo-based corporate training company, and co-author of four New York Times bestsellers: Crucial Conversations, Crucial Confrontations, Influencer, and Change Anything. His ability to captivate audiences makes his Kerrying On article and accompanying podcast the most popular column published in the award-winning Crucial Skills Newsletter.

Kerry Patterson

Bill Ratner

Bill Ratner is a seven-time winner of The Moth's Storytelling Slam and one of America’s most successful voiceover performers. He can be heard on the Discovery, History, and Travel Channels, trailers, cartoons, and games. He teaches voiceovers for the Screen Actors Guild Foundation.

Rick Walton

Called the godfather of children's writing in Utah, Rick Walton, author of over sixty books for children, teaches classes on picture book writing and the children's book publishing industry at BYU. As, perhaps, the most influential person at helping other writers start and advance their careers in publishing, the title is well deserved.

www.rickwalton.com

Donna Washington

Donna Washington has been a professional storyteller for twenty-three years. She has been featured in a number of storytelling festivals around the country including The National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, TN. In her storytelling, she uses her extremely expressive face and vocal pyrotechnics to bring folktales to life.

Well Arts Institute

The Well Arts Institute is a nonprofit arts-in-healthcare organization located in Portland, Oregon. Using creative writing workshops, art, music and theater, Well Arts helps writers, their families and caregivers, and their communities move toward wellness, hope, and meaning in life-changing health situations.