our storytellers
our storytellers
Crystal Mercer
Crystal Mercer is a native of Little Rock, AR. She’s a Performance Artist and Activist and the Sole Proprietor of Columbus Creative Arts + Activism and SAFI FABric MARKET. Mercer’s past credits include a number of plays and musicals in Arkansas, off-Broadway in New York, and internationally in Canterbury, England. She fuses arts and activism…
Emily Wernsdorfer
Emily Wernsdorfer is originally from York, Pennsylvania. She has been living in Arkansas for over ten years and is the program director at Ferncliff Camp & Conference Center in Little Rock. Since she was young, she has always loved spending time outdoors, and feels so lucky to have made a career out of camping. One…
Paige and Anna Reynolds
Anna is a ninth grade student at e-Stem Public Charter School and is a writer, performer and basketball player. Paige, her mom, is an Associate Professor of English at the University of Central Arkansas, and also a writer and a performer (though definitely not a basketball player). Both are firm believers in the power of…
Gabe Gentry
After receiving a degree in digital film production from U.C.A, Gabe joined the Arkansas Educational Telecommunications Network as Executive Producer for AETN’s World War II Oral Histories Project: “In Their Words.” Over the course of five years, he and his archiving team rescued more than 500 hours of primary source World War II visual history.…
Justin Booth
Justin Booth, originally from Black Oak, Arkansas, splits his time between Little Rock, Arkansas and Austin, Texas. He is writer of outlaw poetry, a teller of tales, and lives life to the fullest. Formerly a homeless I.V. drug addict, his work reflects the exciting hardscrabble life he has lived. He has written multiple books of…
Marck Beggs
Dr. Marck L. Beggs is a poet, singer-songwriter, professor, and aspiring Buddhist. He is the author of four collections of poetry, including Blind Verse and Libido Cafe, and a member of the folk-rock band, Bohemian Sauce. Marck and his wife, Carly Cate, both teach English at Henderson State University, and live in the People’s Republic…
Jason Woods
Jason Woods is a writer and editor for Heifer International in Little Rock, Arkansas. He grew up in Stillwater, Oklahoma. For as long as he can remember, he’s been fascinated by the supernatural. At The Yarn, Jason told the tale of what just might have been a run-in with a vengeful poltergeist in Edinburgh’s most…
Julianne Dunn
Julianne Dunn is an educator, a program manager, and a facilitator. She loves a good story and believes in the power of sharing a person or community’s story to develop connection and to lead to further collaboration and innovation. She’s excited to share her best friend Teresa’s story about her childhood ghost for The Yarn’s…
Amy Hopper
As a program officer at Winrock International, Amy manages the Delta I-Fund program, an accelerator for scalable, early-stage entrepreneurs located throughout the Delta Regional Authority of the United States. Amy tells folks that she moved to Little Rock for a man and an awesome job and still has the awesome job. She exchanged her engagement…
Jennifer Cobb
Jennifer Tandy Cobb has built her career around telling other people’s stories and is thrilled to now be sharing some of her own. She is the Director of Content Marketing for Arkansas Children’s, overseeing all marketing-related content initiatives. Jennifer previously served as the Director of Communications and Planning for the Arkansas Children’s Foundation, building capacity…
Andrea Zekis
Andrea Zekis is a journalist, cartographer and activist living in Little Rock, Arkansas. She attends the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service. Andrea is known nationally for her work advocating for the civil rights of transgender and gender non-binary Americans, particularly in Arkansas where she founded and serves on the board of the…
Merit Glover
Merit Glover recently arrived in Little Rock from snowy Massachusetts to be a production assistant at Arkansas Repertory Theatre. In the past year, Merit’s worked with Tuacahn Center for the Arts in Ivins, UT, and the Cleveland Public Theatre in Cleveland, OH, as well as spending time in Portland, OR and Richmond, VA. Merit’s an…
Jeannie Stone
Jeannie is the mother of a deaf, transgender son and was eager to testify how God chose her to be his mother and the spiritual growth and peace she has experienced because she listened with ears of love. Committed to a life of tearing down walls of intolerance, particularly in religious communities, she was excited…
LaTasha Moore
LaTasha Moore is a native Arkansan from the rural community of Falcon, located in the Southwest corner of the state. She graduated from Prescott High School and obtained undergraduate degrees in Spanish and communication studies from Arkansas State University. LaTasha most recently graduated from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Master of Public Health…
Frederick Gentry
Frederick was born and raised in Jacksonville, Arkansas and graduated from Jacksonville High School in 1995. In 1996, at the age of 19, Gentry made his first run for public office running for the Jacksonville City Council. Although he did not win that election he did receive over 40% of the vote. In 1997 he…
Gerard Matthews
Gerard is a documentary filmmaker who lives in Little Rock with his wife Stephanie. He is a former journalist and communications professional. He currently runs his own video production company and is a proud graduate of UCA and the George Washington University. When he has free time, he likes to play music, read, and enjoy…
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