A New Way Forward
What I've discovered - through work with organizations ranging from small community centers to federal health ministries - is that while data saves lives, it isn't enough.
The true catalyst for transformation isn't in manufacturing authenticity through complex communication plans. It's in creating space for stories to emerge and truly listening to your community.
Simple storytelling initiatives are actually one of the most efficient investments you can make in your organization's future.
Think about the resources you're currently spending on:
- Programs that don't gain community traction
- Marketing campaigns that don't resonate
- Staff turnover due to disconnection from purpose
- Multiple rounds of program revisions
- Empty community engagement events
- Complex communication plans that miss the mark
Storytelling creates a clear path forward that saves time and resources at every turn. By learning what your community actually needs, you'll stop spending resources on initiatives that don't have built-in buy-in. You'll gain powerful advocacy tools that help secure funding. Your staff will feel more connected to their purpose, reducing turnover costs. And instead of repeatedly revising programs that aren't working, you'll get it right the first time by building on community wisdom.
Bringing Story Into Your Organization To Meet Your Specific Needs
Whether you're just beginning your storytelling journey or ready for comprehensive organizational change, there's a path that fits your needs:
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Build Trust, Drive Change, and Create Lasting Impact Through Story
The solution to your organization’s challenges isn't in more data, more marketing plans, or more assumptions about what your community needs. The answer is actually far simpler and more fundamentally human than that. It's in stories.
You already know this truth deep down. You see it when you connect with people at the dinner table, when you visit your grandmother, even in those quick scrolling breaks during lunch. Stories are how we've made sense of our world since time immemorial. They're how we build trust, foster understanding, and create lasting change.
As a leader, you pour your heart into serving your community. You create detailed strategies, collect endless data, and craft careful communications. Yet somewhere between the tedious program plans and the empty rooms at community events, the human connection gets lost.
On one end, you're working to convince decision-makers to care about your critical initiatives enough to provide the funding, time, and staffing you desperately need. On the other, you're striving to get community members to care about accessing preventive and supportive services. In between, you've spent countless hours and resources developing initiatives "for" your community. You've crafted detailed marketing strategies and 87-page communication plans. You've collected mountains of data. And yet, something's still missing. Your programs aren't driving the health-seeking behaviors you know are possible. Your staff feels disconnected from their purpose. And despite your best efforts, genuine community trust remains elusive.
Story Lab Sessions
Tailored strategy mapping to chart your organization's storytelling journey, followed by a comprehensive brief with guidance to implement the findings from our session. Perfect for organizations ready to take their first steps or needing focused guidance on specific initiatives.
Investment: $7,500, or $10,000 for a Story Lab Session with 3 months of Weekly Story Hours Support
Weekly Story Hours
 Weekly real-time support, guidance, and peer learning. These group sessions provide ongoing support and practical insights and are an excellent fit for any health or justice-oriented organization.
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Investment:Â $2,000 per month for 3, 6, or 9 months
Customized Collaboration
 Long-term, tailored support for comprehensive organizational transformation. We’ll work closely together to integrate storytelling deeply into your existing processes. This is designed for organizations looking for in-depth support designing, implementing, and learning from storytelling initiatives.
Investment:Â $10,000 a month for consistent support.Â
Half &Â Full Day Intensives
Individually designed intensives for your staff retreats and training blocks to engage your staff in a process that centers their experiences and connections to their work through story. Great for organizations looking for a unique, connective experience for their team.
Investment:Â $10,000 - $15,000 based on length and content
Through any of these pathways, you'll:
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Foster genuine trust and connection with the communities you serve
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Create programs that already have community buy-in because they're built on community wisdom
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Nurture team members who reconnect with why they came to this work
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Develop powerful, evergreen advocacy tools that move decision-makers in ways data alone never could
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Save time and resources by ending the cycle of trial and error
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Increase health-seeking behaviors through authentic community engagement
The beauty is that you don't need new team members, multi-year grant funding, or a complete operational overhaul. Instead, we'll integrate storytelling into your existing processes in ways that feel like a deep exhale rather than a 26-mile marathon. From Greece to Ethiopia, from community health centers to federal ministries, I've seen these approaches create lasting change across diverse contexts.
Why trust me as your guide?
As an Indigenous person, stories are my North Star—they're how I learned to understand the world. This foundation, combined with my graduate studies at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, has given me a unique perspective on the intersection of data and storytelling in driving organizational change and health outcomes.
For four years at StoryCorps, I led dozens of partners through transformative storytelling initiatives, working with organizations ranging from small nonprofits to global foundations and pharmaceutical companies. Beyond that role, I've provided storytelling support to influential health leaders including Dr. Anthony Fauci and WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, helping them harness the power of narrative to communicate critical public health messages.
Throughout my career, I've worked across the globe designing, implementing, and facilitating storytelling initiatives that have transformed organizations and built bridges through increased trust and understanding. My approach combines ancient wisdom with modern organizational needs, creating practical solutions that drive real change.
Proven Impact
Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center
We trained rural care workers to tell their stories in communities where data and small numbers didn't capture their full impact. By collecting 13 stories from various community workers—from home repair specialists to peer recovery coaches—we created powerful advocacy tools that demonstrated the true value of their work.
Federal Ministry of Health of Ethiopia
Leading a team that gathered stories from all levels of the health system, including patients, we helped create and implement the first-ever nationwide Compassionate and Respectful Healthcare Initiative. This groundbreaking work demonstrated how storytelling can drive systematic change at a national level.
The Vermont NetworkÂ
We facilitated StoryGatherings with violence survivors to understand their healthcare system experiences and barriers. These stories informed healthcare worker training programs. We then gathered healthcare workers' stories to understand their challenges, creating a comprehensive approach that honored both patient and provider experiences.
International Crisis Response
Working with Humanity Crew in Greece, we designed and implemented storytelling initiatives for displaced individuals and communities. These stories shifted narratives from assumptions to lived experiences, becoming powerful advocacy tools at local, national, and international levels.
To many in this modern world, data means statistically significant numbers and is seen as the only valid way to document reality. Madison Barney understands how bereft of truth and usefulness this definition really is, especially for historically marginalized people, small groups, and rural communities. Madison is an ally and a partner in bringing these voices to the table in ways that honor their traditions and reduce the harm that can be done with extractive data collection approaches. She is a pleasure to work with – always teaching, always advocating, and always drawing me closer to a true understanding of what health equity should look like in our community.
Alice Ely
Executive Director, Public Health Council of the Upper Valley
When we set out to create a new training program for health professionals, we knew we needed the stories of people with lived experience to sit at the heart of that project. In a time when those most harmed in our communities are often the ones most researched, questioned and extracted from to produce solutions, we chose to work with Madison Barney to ensure that the gathering of those stories would serve as much as a gift to the people who shared them, as it would to the people who will learn and benefit from their telling.
Madison was intentional and timely with project planning and correspondence. She entered every room with clarity, joy and a deep understanding of the purpose of our time together. And she delivered a clever, well organized, and engaging learning tool that pulses with the voices of our project’s participants.
I cannot recommend her more highly and I look forward to working with her again.
Kiona Heath
Director, Trauma Informed Care Vermont Network
Past Clients
The smartest people ask great questions:
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: We're already stretched thin. How much time will this take? A: We'll integrate storytelling into your existing processes, making it feel natural and manageable rather than adding another burden to your team's plate. The approach is designed to save you time in the long run by eliminating ineffective strategies.
Q: How quickly will we see results? A: Organizations typically begin seeing shifts in team engagement and community response within the first few weeks of implementation. The impact compounds over time as trust builds and stories accumulate.
Q: We don't have a big budget for new initiatives right now. A: Consider how much you're currently spending on initiatives that aren't creating the impact you want. This investment helps ensure your resources are used effectively by letting community wisdom guide your efforts.
Q: How is this different from our current communication strategy? A: Unlike traditional top-down approaches, this work creates authentic connection by centering community voices and wisdom. It's not about crafting the perfect message - it's about creating space for real stories to emerge and guide your work.
Q: Do we need special expertise or training? A: You already have the foundational skills - you use storytelling every day in your personal life. We'll help you translate that natural ability into organizational practice with expert guidance and support.
