The Barbara Geralds Institute for Storytelling and Social Impact

It would be impossible to list all the work done by the Barbara Geralds Institute for Storytelling and Social Impact, which encompasses everything from Emmy-winning short films to published scholarship to fundraising efforts benefitting the families of children with cancer.

Housed within the Scripps College of Communication, the Storytelling Institute is led by co-director Lynn Harter (professor of Communication Studies) and associate director Joe Bianco (associate professor in the Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine), along with Tom Hodson, co-director emeritus and Megan Westervelt, chief video producer. With an overarching goal of “catalyzing collective action,” the Institute's work falls into two categories: collaborative storytelling and narrative scholarship.

The hands-on work of storytelling happens with partners including non-profits, granting agencies and private industry. The Institute partners with those clients to tell their stories in a variety of innovative and groundbreaking formats, including short- and long-form digital stories and podcasts.

Narrative scholarship includes research conducted by OHIO faculty and students as well as the promulgation of teaching methods that utilize storytelling to enhance students’ experience and learning.

“The institute’s scholarly initiatives are united by their desire to surface and amplify voices previously unheard or dismissed and in ways that model how to thrive amid hardship," Harter says.

The Institute’s impact and reach were on full display during OHIO Giving Day 2024, when more than 187 donors raised over $25,000. The funds raised on Giving Day will be dedicated to funding student experiential learning opportunities.

“Words fall short of conveying our gratitude for the generosity of those who have supported the Storytelling Institute with their time, talent, and treasure," Harter says about the Giving Day support. "On behalf of the leadership team, we hope our ‘thank you’ will be evidenced in the ongoing work of OHIO students as they learn alongside community members to create more just and joyful communities.”

Chuck W. Kaminski, a Ph.D. candidate in the School of Communication Studies, says working with the Storytelling Institute has helped him realize his potential and learn academic research methods as well as practical skills.

"But most importantly," Kaminski says, "my career and life are now hinged on the work that I have done and the skills I have learned working with Lynn, the Storytelling Institute, and Passion Works Studio. I cannot express my gratitude for the Barbara Geralds Institute for Storytelling and Social Impact, the dedicated work of Passion Works studio, and the intellectual curiosities that have guided those involved." 

Passion Works Studio

Perhaps the Institute's most recognizable collaboration is with Passion Works Studio. Among many other creative endeavors, the Athens-based community arts center works alongside the Storytelling Institute to chronicle the creation of murals on buildings throughout the Athens community. Passion Works is known for its commitment to using upcycled materials, and students working with the Storytelling Institute get hands-on experience with the studio and its artists. For Passion Works director and Storytelling Institute Community Fellow Patty Mitchell, the partnership is a natural collaboration.

"[The Storytelling Institute] is dedicated to student involvement, video documentation, publishing articles and interpreting our work, making it easier for other communities to replicate," Mitchell says. "Co-Director Dr. Lynn Harter has walked with us for over 21 years and we are grateful for her insight, passion and dedication to experiential learning for Ohio University students."

Ella Spremulli is a Communication Studies major in the Honors Tutorial College who says the opportunity to work with the Storytelling Institute came into her life when she was feeling "fairly hopeless" about the prospect of making an impact on her community.

"Through the introduction of narrative and storytelling, I found a way to share my voice and desires in a medium beneficial to myself and others, whether through visual media, writing, or artwork," Spremulli says. "The encouragement of positive transformation guides me through my life as an Ohio University student and as an Athens community member."

With a mission to raise awareness about childhood cancer and stand in solidarity with impacted families, the Institute organized the "Turn it Gold with Passion" campaign, which brings the non-profit Turn it Gold and 10 OHIO athletic teams together to coordinate Turn it Gold-themed games. The studio also has a Turn it Gold product line with 20 percent of proceeds donated directly to childhood cancer research. 

The students who work with the Storytelling Institute assist with creating content and guiding projects. During his time with the Institute, Francis Ametepey, a graduate student in the Communication and Development Studies program, has worked on collaborative initiatives including Kindness Is Food, Operation Hummingbird, and the Culture, Community, and Connection project.

"As an international student, the Storytelling Institute helped me discover my voice and become a stronger advocate for my fellow international students," Ametepey says. "It taught me the power of storytelling to transform perspectives, create positive impacts, and change the narrative."

The Sugar Bush Foundation

One of the Storytelling Institute's longitudinal projects that intersects with Passion Works is a funded partnership with the Sugar Bush Foundation, which works with the Storytelling Institute as a campus partner and Passion Works as a community partner. Now in its fourth year, the Sugar Bush partnership recently provided $50,000 in funding, bringing the total funding to $164,550. 

With more than 110 graduate and undergraduate students working on the project, the Storytelling Institute has produced 25 digital stories for the foundation.

“The Storytelling Institute has transformed the Sugar Bush Foundation by helping us tell our stories, giving students voice to share their experience of working in university-community collaborations, giving us the tools to describe what the Sugar Bush Foundation does, and clarifying our benefit to the university," said Hylie Voss, the foundation's president. "The Sugar Bush Foundation and the Storytelling Institute both amplify the assets of the region, so students become engaged in the region, learning to love this place!"

Colin Cameron is a Ph.D. student in the School of Communication Studies who, as part of his position with the Storytelling Institute, has worked on the annual "Behind the White Coat" event, which invites students and faculty in the Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine to tell the stories that carry the most personal and professional meaning for them.  

"Now, at the halfway point in my Ph.D. program at Ohio University, the Storytelling Institute has afforded me countless diverse experiences where community involvement and scholarship are intertwined - fundamentally exemplifying what it means to 'learn by doing,'” Cameron says.

You can learn more about the Storytelling Institute’s initiatives on Facebook, X, Instagram, and LinkedIn.