by guest blogger Jeremy Podolski

Just as we all have a voice and a story to tell, we all have capacity to lead.

If you have the desire to bring your volunteer energy to a local nonprofit dedicated to fostering empathy, advancing equity and recognizing the dignity of all people in our community, you may be a candidate for Ex Fabula’s Board of Directors. We are accepting applications for new board positions through May 25, 2018.

Audience members at Garfield’s 502 for March’s “TMI” StorySlam. All photos by Art Montes.

As a current board member, I am inspired every day by the courage of people willing to share their true, personal stories as well as the welcoming and engaged audiences that are a hallmark of participation with Ex Fabula. I know I’m not alone, so I asked some of my fellow board members to share why they believe Ex Fabula’s work is valuable to our community and important to them personally.

And since our board is action-oriented, they each identified a verb that holds significant meaning for them.

David Lee chairs the board’s Governance Committee. He is Executive Director of Feeding Wisconsin.

“Ex Fabula’s work is important to the community because it is the venue for our city where we can share, heal and celebrate the common bonds of the human (and not unimportantly, the uniquely Milwaukee) experience. While I did not grow up here, I’ve gotten to know the city, its people and a part of its history as if I had. In a world that is hyperconnected in virtual but increasingly disconnected in human spaces, it is important to have organizations like Ex Fabula where we can come together and share in what makes us, us.”

Favorite verb = Defenestrate: “As a professional hunger fighter, my mission in life is to defenestrate the causes of hunger and poverty and ensure that all families in Wisconsin have the food and nutrition they need to work, learn and live healthy lives.”

Raina Johnson is board Secretary. They are Donor Stewardship & Storytelling Manager for Artists Working in Education (AWE).

Brave storytellers taking at bow at the TMI event.

“For me, Ex Fabula facilitates brave space and to be heard and seen. As a person who identifies as black and non-binary, it’s impossible for me to separate myself, and Ex Fabula sees that. Their work is liberating for the larger Milwaukee community so that we all may show up as whole humans with dignity and value.”

Favorite verb = Exist: “I exist because the other option is death, and in death I cannot be of service to myself or others.”

Dan Mueller chairs the board’s Development Committee. He is Chief Development Officer for the AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin.

“Technology, believe it or not, creates a certain isolation, it seems to me. The grass can always look greener on someone else’s Instagram or Facebook or SnapChat. Ex Fabula’s events erase this isolation in real time, help us get our noses up and out of our phones and connect to the people around us. There is great value in this.”

Audience members Ex Fabulating (see definition at left). See more photos here!

Favorite verb = Ex Fabulate: “To listen to totally cool people risk it all to tell real life stories in great settings around Milwaukee.”

If you’d like to join forces with these and other talented volunteers to support Milwaukee’s premier storytelling organization, please review the qualifications and consider applying for a board position.

Only together can we Ex Fabulate to our fullest potential, and thereby defenestrate the barriers to solidarity so we may exist in the equitable community we envision.