2nd Story Transforms Workplace Cultures With Authentic Storytelling Experiences

Chicago's longest-running storytelling collective, 2nd Story, is expanding its groundbreaking training program under the new brand CultureBuilds.

The program now accounts for 30% of the nonprofit's annual budget and offers a suite of employee training options from equity, diversity and inclusion training to team building, live entertainment, and workshops for students and teachers.

CultureBuilds' spring public programming kicks off with Revive, Refresh, Restore: Reclaiming Self Care as a Radical Act on Wednesday, April 28 at 3 p.m. CDT via Zoom. The event is "pay-what-you-feel" and features storyteller and 2nd Story Board Member Dr. S Simmons who will share his experience exploring radical acts of rest and examine how to reclaim one's energy in a time of heartbreaking events and dramatic change. More CultureBuilds program information is available at www.culturebuilds.com/events. Additional spring programming will be announced in early May.

"A Power Point is not going to change a heart or mind, but a well-crafted, well-told story can be a catalyst for change," said Lauren Sivak, Managing Director of 2nd Story. "The first-person storytelling that 2nd Story is known for is what makes CultureBuilds unlike any other professional development opportunity. CultureBuilds is true to its new title, as it builds empathy and creates authentic change amongst colleagues."

Originally called "2nd Story for Hire," the professional development program has grown exponentially over the past decade, culminating in the new CultureBuilds brand launch last year. In the past 12 months, CultureBuilds has been hired by more than 25 international companies. To meet this demand, CultureBuilds by 2nd Story recently generated a new full-time position with Carolyn Aguila named Manager of Partnerships in January 2021. Aguila is tasked with creating specially curated CultureBuilds programs that train organizations in building empathy, cohesion, and the skills necessary to engage with their teams.

"Organizations nationwide partner with us to help them build more empathetic, connected cultures," said Amanda Delheimer, Artistic Director of 2nd Story. "Our storytelling experiences are engaging and true, and our stories provide a shared entry point for transformative dialogue and conversations. The result is bridging employee differences, building stronger connections, and developing new, more positive ways of working together."

CultureBuilds' Equity, Diversity and Inclusion offerings utilize stories as an entry point to touch on difficult conversations like microaggressions, unconscious bias, or gender inclusion in the workplace. Last year, Guerrero Media, an executive communications and advancement firm based in Chicago, slated CultureBuilds to train their staff of 60 to explore concepts of social location and intersectionality. For this workshop, CultureBuilds featured 2nd Story Company Member Jess Kadish's story "Where is She?" - a story frequently used in CultureBuilds' work as it provides several avenues for dialogue.

After a challenging and isolating year, Motorola Solutions approached CultureBuilds in fall 2020 to create an experience that would bring their team joy and celebrate resilience. 2nd Story Company Members Darren Meyers and Martinique Hallerduff performed true, personal stories centered on themes that celebrated resilience, perseverance, adaptability, and teamwork. Performances were followed by small group discussions, and in total, 87 employees tuned in from the United States, Canada, Poland, India, Scotland, and Australia.

"The team at CultureBuilds did an excellent job of creating a fundamentally human experience in a year where we've spent nearly all our time online, at home," said Isabel Firpo, Design Operations at Motorola Solutions. "We thank them for creating this moment for us to share together as a global team, and for the space to simply connect to one another."

Chicago's longest-running story collective, 2nd Story, hosts events in and around Chicago that elevate the storyteller's words to deliver a unique, live, literary/theatrical experience unlike any other in the city. Since it's 1999 founding, 2nd Story venues are as varied as its stories, and its equally diverse storytellers help bridge the gap between the personal and the universal.

Launched in January 2020, CultureBuilds, a suite of 2nd Story's groundbreaking training programs, was created to empower businesses, schools, and not-for-profits to accomplish deeper connections with one another and partners through transformative narrative.

For more information on 2nd Story and CultureBuilds, visit 2ndstory.com and CultureBuilds.com.