The Gathering’s Guiding Idea

Space.
At this year’s gathering, we explored space in all of its different meanings. The spaces between us. The spaces that include us — or reject us. The spaces that allow us to feel welcomed. The spaces that allow us to bring new meanings to things. Join us in our exploration of space.

Watch frank 2023

Meet the frank 2019 speakers

  • Zahra Noorbakhsh is an Iranian-American comedian and cohost of the award-winning podcast #GoodMuslimBadMuslim. A Senior Fellow on comedy for social change, she has performed sold-out stand-up specials and written for The New York Times and NPR, using humor to challenge narratives and promote justice.
    Zahra Noorbakhsh
    Comedian, Writer, Actor
  • Omar Wasow is an Assistant Professor of Politics at Princeton University whose research explores protest movements and political behavior. His work has been featured in The New Yorker, The Atlantic and The Washington Post. A co-founder of BlackPlanet.com, he holds a PhD in African American Studies and MAs in Government and Statistics from Harvard University.
    Alan Jenkins
    Law Professor, Harvard
  • Fiona Morgan is an independent consultant of Branchhead Consulting, specializing in building stronger local news and media ecosystems. She works with nonprofits, newsrooms, funders and community organizations on community listening, engagement and program design.
    Fiona Morgan
    Independent Consultant, Branchhead Consulting
  • Jeffrey P. Jones is the executive director of the George Foster Peabody Awards, the oldest and most prestigious broadcasting and digital media award. He directs the Peabody Media Center and is Lambdin Kay Chair at the University of Georgia. An author and scholar, his work focuses on media, politics, satire and popular culture.
    Jeffrey Jones
    Executive Director, Peabody Awards
  • Ryan Senser helps justice leaders turn vision into action through strategy, narrative and organizational transformation. With experience at SYPartners, Edelman Digital and numerous nonprofits and foundations, he develops brand, storytelling and engagement strategies that drive culture change and social impact.
    Ryan Senser
    Self-Employed Independent Strategy Consultant
  • Marika Anthony-Shaw is the founder and CEO of PLUS1, a global philanthropic movement that raises funds for nonprofits by adding a dollar to concert tickets. A former member of the Grammy-winning band Arcade Fire, she uses her platform to connect art, culture and justice, helping raise over $7 million for more than 250 organizations.
    Marika Anthony-Shaw
    Chief Executive Officer at PLUS1
  • Samuel Snyder is a seasoned educator, organizer and communicator, skilled in managing awareness campaigns. He has worked to empower community voices and build social and political power for some of the biggest conservation issues of our time.
    Sam Snyder
    Campaign Director @ True Blue Strategies and Small Business Owner of Spinster Abbott’s
  • Enrique “Kike” Balcazar is a seasoned community leader and human rights champion based in Vermont. A former dairy farmworker and migrant leader, he is a key figure in Migrant Justice, leading campaigns like Milk with Dignity that improve conditions for farmworkers. He has successfully campaigned for driver’s licenses for all Vermont residents and serves on the Vermont Attorney General’s task force.
    Enrique Balcazar
    Community Leader
  • Heidi Boisvert is a new media artist, experience designer and creative technologist. She is Associate Professor of AI and the Arts at the University of Florida and founder of the futurePerfect lab, where she explores how emerging technologies, affect and the senses drive social change and cultural transformation.
    Heidi Boisvert
    Associate Professor of AI and the Arts, University of Florida
  • Jeremy Yip is an Assistant Professor of Management at Georgetown University whose research examines the psychology of emotion, ethics, negotiation, trash-talking and imposter syndrome. His work reveals how emotions and competitive communication shape ethical behavior, decision-making and workplace dynamics.
    Jeremy Yip
    Assistant Professor of Management, Georgetown University
  • Joseph Phelan is a strategist and communications consultant with over 20 years of experience helping organizations and leaders clarify their vision and tell powerful stories. As founder of Nine Oaks Consulting, he guides nonprofits and foundations through strategic planning, messaging and narrative change.
    Joseph Phelan
    Strategist and Communications Consultant
  • At the Ad Council, Rachelle Reeder blends strategy, research and storytelling to drive narrative change. Grounded in a belief in a greater “we,” her work spans planning, insights and evaluation to shape both short-form PSAs and long-form films through Ad Council Entertainment.
    Rachelle Reeder
    Strategist, Researcher and Storyteller
  • Deborah Jacobs is a longtime civil liberties and justice leader. A former ACLU Executive Director and Ms. Foundation VP, she directed King County’s Office of Law Enforcement Oversight and now leads the Ernest Becker Foundation. Based in Seattle, she advances accessibility, accountability and compassionate leadership.​​
    Deborah Jacobs
    Law Enforcement Director
  • Annie Flanagan is a photographer whose work revolves around themes of memory, human-nature, environment and people’s relationship to place. They live in New Orleans, taking photos of anything that sparks their curiosity.
    Annie Flanagan
    Photographer
  • Soumyajit (Shom) Mazumder is a political economist, writer and academic editor who received his PhD in government from Harvard University in 2020. He is currently working on a book-length project on the promise of deepening democracy in the workplace.
    Shom Mazumder
    Academic Editor, Standard Error
  • Michael McPhearson, Executive Director of Veterans For Peace, is a former U.S. Army Captain turned peace champion. Raised near Fort Bragg, he moved from military service to a lifelong fight for justice. Through Veterans For Peace, Ferguson coalition work and anti-war awareness, he fights for accountability, empathy and a reimagined vision of patriotism rooted in peace.
    Michael McPhearson
    Executive Director of Veterans For Peace
  • Tony Weaver Jr. is the founder of Weird Enough Productions, a media company creating stories that inspire positive change. A passionate champion for representation and media literacy, Tony works to build a more inclusive world through the power of storytelling.
    Tony Weaver
    Founder at Weird Enough Productions
  • Susanna Blankley is a community organizer and educator with 15+ years’ experience in tenant and labor organizing. She’s Coalition Coordinator for Right to Counsel NYC, a trainer, educator and champion for housing justice and women’s rights. Based in New York, she teaches community organizing.
    Susanna Blankley
    Senior Organizing Capacity Coordinator, SEIU
  • Maytha Alhassen, Ph.D., is a historian, writer and producer exploring justice through storytelling. Co-Executive Producer of Hulu’s Ramy and founder of the Center for Story Justice, she lectures at Stanford, fighting for cultural accessibility and studies representation across media and identity.
    Maytha Alhassen
    Co-Executive Producer and Writer at Ramy
  • An award-winning nonprofit executive, producer and tenured professor, Caty Borum directs the Center for Media & Social Impact at American University. Her work explores comedy, storytelling and media for social change. She co-founded the Yes, And… Laughter Lab and has authored multiple acclaimed books on media and action.
    Cay Borum Cattoo
    Executive Director, Author and Media Scholar
  • Shawn Taylor is an accomplished journalist and executive producer with extensive experience in national radio and TV. Based in Portland, Oregon, he has led shows like The Thom Hartmann Program and The Lars Larson Show, skillfully managing production, guest acquisition and content development.
    Shawn Taylor
    Public Information Officer, North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality
  • Tracy Van Slyke is the Chief Strategy Officer at the Pop Culture Collaborative, bringing 17 years of experience connecting media, justice organizers and philanthropy to drive narrative change for accessibility and cultural justice.
    Tracy Van Slyke
    Chief Strategy Officer, Pop Culture Collaborative
  • Elsa Eli Waithe is a Brooklyn-based stand-up comedian and instructor known for sharp, lighthearted comedy addressing. Featured on MTV, BET, NPR and the New York Comedy Festival, Elsa uses humor to inspire and engage audiences. They also teach comedy to teen girls, empowering the next generation with laughter and life lessons.
    Elsa Waithe
    Comedian, Actor and Motivational Speaker
  • Mary-Pat Hector began community organizing at the age of 12. At the age of 18, she was one of the youngest community leaders to advise President Barack Obama on criminal justice reform in the Oval Office. By the age of 19, she became the youngest woman and person of color to run for public office in the state of Georgia, losing by only 22 votes. Hector serves as CEO of Rise, an organization that trains and hires students to organize campaigns focused on increasing voter turnout.
    Mary-Pat Hector
    CEO, Rise
  • Jacob Larson is the owner of Gainesville’s popular pub The Bull. He is a community pastor who focuses on youth leadership and sees his pub as an extension of his ministry and a space for community connection.
    Jacob Larson
    Owner, The Bull Gainesville
  • Tamarra Thal is a Marketing Lead for Ecosystem Service Partners at IBM. Previously, she was a Youth Advocacy Trainer at Truth Initiative. She graduated from the University of Florida in 2020 with a degree in public relations and strategic communication.
    Tamarra Thal
    Marketing Lead at IBM
  • E. Ciszek is an associate professor at UT Austin’s Moody College of Communication, specializing in strategic communication and inclusion, Their work bridges rigorous research with actionable insights for organizations and has been published in top communication journals worldwide.
    E. Ciszek
    Associate Professor of Advertising and Public Relations at UT Austin
  • Lizz Winstead, co-creator of The Daily Show and Air America Radio, is a leading political satirist. A former correspondent and co-host of Unfiltered, she’s been recognized by major media and named one of EW’s “100 Most Creative People.” She now leads Abortion Access Front, using humor to defend reproductive rights.
    Lizz Winstead
    Founder/Chief Creative Officer at Abortion Access Front
  • Annie Neimand, Ph.D.., is a social change strategist and researcher specializing in systems thinking, human-centered design and frameworks for justice. Formerly Director of Research at UF’s Center for Public Interest Communications, she’s collaborated with the UN, Gates Foundation and National Geographic.
    Annie Neimand
    Ph.D..
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