Story Seeds: Leadership as an Emergent Practice

Room: 228 - This interactive storytelling workshop asks participants to reflect on their own entry points into leadership as a foundation for exploring different models and perceptions of what and who a leader is.

Following a guided storytelling exercise, participants will explore the concept of leadership as an emergent practice, one that grows from “relatively simple interactions” (1) rather than premeditated strategy or full-fledged projects. Finally, they will engage in vision work, drawing and sharing their “visions for a more just society.” (2)

(1) adrienne maree brown, Emergent Strategy (Chico: AK Press, 2017), 24.

(2) Tania Mitchell, “Traditional v. Critical Service Learning: Engaging the Literature to Differentiate Two Models,” Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning (2008): 56.

Presenter: Megan Lovely

Megan Lovely is an Instructor and Program Manager for Community-Engaged Learning at the University of Rochester. Formerly in Baltimore, MD she worked at the intersection of education, community engagement, arts, and nonprofits. Her continued partnership with the 32nd Street Farmers Market in Baltimore has allowed her to document and promote local stories, illustrating the market as a community hub – most notably, in her recent publication, “Story Seeds: Growing Home at the Farmers Market.” Through this project, Megan has observed and experienced the transformative power of engaging directly with communities to challenge and enrich the prevailing narratives about cities. Through her community-engaged arts practice, Recipes for Community, she creates spaces to share these stories.