Lisa and John first launched The Storytelling Circle in 2009 at Sticks and Stones in Newtown, CT and have hosted circles at Toquet Hall and Storytelling Live! workshops at the Westport Library. John teaches the Art of Storytelling at Norwalk Community College and has been a repeat presenter at The Grove New Haven and Stamford Innovation Center. He offers talks and workshops for executives, business owners, individuals, authors, and anyone who wants to become a better communicator through story.
John O'Hern (Right Brain)
Westport, CT resident John O'Hern is an actor, author, and master storyteller. During a decade in New York City as an actor including off-Broadway roles, television commercials and print ads, John married his corporately employed wife and soon became the stay-at-home father of Max, their first born.
Almost simultaneously John the writer was born. His initial foray into writing was A Rooster in the Henhouse, an acerbic memoir based on his wife's pregnancy experience seen through a man's eyes. It was this attempt at memoir that evolved into his highly praised one-man off-Broadway show of the same name.
John's next writing project was his two person play, Sweetspot Confessions of a Golfaholic, which was performed before packed houses in Connecticut. Sweetspot, the novel, is the off-spring of that play.
His next book, Not The Kennedys: escaping a father's broken legacy, a memoir about growing up in the chaos of an Irish Catholic household with eight children in contrast to his personal parenting experiences with two children of his own, will be available soon.
John is currently at work on Get Your Story Straight in which he shares his insights about storytelling in work and in life.
John's key talent is the ability to extract the core of a story out of chaos, coaching storytellers of all abilities. He uses his natural comedic talents to participate in local storytelling events and loves helping people from all walks of life become better communicators as they learn the art of storytelling!
Lisa Jacoby (Left Brain)
John's storytelling skill was one of the reasons Lisa married him (along with his ability to make her laugh). After a Fortune 500 corporate career, a small business owner and consultant, Lisa is now a Professional Development Coach & Creative Operations Consultant.
Lisa co-founded The Extended Family which re-imagines the way in which adults with autism and other developmental disabilities lead productive lives, by creating micro-businesses where all individuals can thrive and be successful within the right environment.
She also facilitates empowerment workshops designed to maximize individual and collective talent, based upon the core teachings of her book, What I Know to Be True (co-authored with Caroline Temple).
Lisa's business experience, combined with her event production experience, enables her to shepherd multiple creative projects. Hosting and facilitating Storytelling Communities is a long time vision that she is excited to help bring to life!