About Us - Capital Storytelling

Capital Storytelling is an organization based in Sacramento, California. Our mission is to empower individuals by teaching them how to tell their own true stories and, in doing so, to foster empathy, compassion, and connection among those living in our city. We are committed to diversity and inclusivity, ensuring that all of our city’s stories are heard. We believe that real social change happens when we listen to one another’s stories.

We were founded in 2018 by Sacramento State Professor, Lisa Cantrell. Having experienced a change in her own life after hearing others’ personal stories, she launched the organization with funding from Sacramento State. In the first year of Capital Storytelling’s existence, Cantrell led community-wide workshops and organized large scale events at venues throughout Sacramento.

The organization became a 501c3 at the end of 2019, and we quickly grew from there! We are now a staff of over a dozen individuals– proudly diverse in age, life experiences, race, orientation, ability, and religion– all of us dedicated to fostering greater empathy and committed to changing our communities. We are national and international at this point, offering a wide range of virtual classes including introductory and advanced oral storytelling, audio-radio storytelling, one-on-one story coaching, as well as special one day workshops with community members and businesses. Capital Storytelling trains approximately 500 individuals each year through our classes and workshops and our events are attended by nearly 800 people total annually.

We will continue to train individuals through our classes, special workshops, and partnerships with local organizations to spread the transformative power of personal storytelling. The people who work at Capital Storytelling are not only skilled storytellers and radio producers, we are also deeply committed to social change. We believe that storytelling is a powerful artform. Hearing stories gives peoples new perspectives and shifts our thinking about the world. The act of telling stories empowers individuals and creates identity. Through storytelling, Capital Storytelling hopes to draw people into a world of artistic expression while fostering empathy and connection. Learn more about who we are here.