Meet the team, discover our stories

Sharhonda Bossier has been a member of the Board of Directors of Narrative 4 since 2017. She is the Deputy Director at Education Leaders of Color (EdLoC) and focuses on identifying, equipping, elevating and sustaining talented Black and Latino leaders to thrive in the highest level education roles and lead a more inclusive education reform movement. Prior to joining EdLoC, Sharhonda Bossier worked with Education Cities, a national nonprofit that supports and advises city-based education organizations on their efforts to grow great public schools. A graduate of the University of California, Santa Cruz, Sharhonda started her career in education as a public school teacher and also brings years of legislative and electoral campaign experience in both volunteer and leadership capacities to her work at Education Leaders of Color.

Greg Khalil is a founding member and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Narrative 4. He is the President and Co-Founder of Telos, which is a key partner of N4. Before founding the Telos Group, Greg lived in Ramallah, the West Bank, where he advised the Palestinian leadership on peace negotiations with Israel. Although Greg was born and raised in San Diego, California, much of his extended family still lives in Beit Sahour, a predominantly Palestinian Christian town near Bethlehem. His work has been published by The Review of Faith & International Affairs and The New York Times. Greg is a graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles and Yale Law School.

Colum McCann is President and Co-Founder of Narrative 4, which he began to help shape in 2004. He is the author of six novels and three collections of stories. Born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, has been the recipient of many international honours, including the National Book Award, the International Dublin Impac Prize, a Chevalier des Arts et Lettres from the French government, election to the Irish arts academy, the 2010 Best Foreign Novel Award in China, and an Oscar nomination. In 2017 he was elected to the American Academy of Arts. His work has been published in over 40 languages. His most recent novel, Apeirogon was a New York Times bestseller, and winner of several international prizes.

Heather Mitchell is a member of the Board of Directors of Narrative 4, and has been affiliated with the organization since 2013. She was born in Montreal and moved to Paris to begin a career in sports marketing, becoming the first female agent of male professional tennis players. After moving to New York to raise a family, she has worked as a literary agent, screenwriter and social justice advocate. She is the founder of SerialLit, a digital publishing venture that connects exemplary storytelling with iconic brands and their communities. She serves as a Director of the Mitchell Institute, a scholarship and support program in Maine for college-bound students.

Jadesola Adekoya is an operations and program intern at Narrative 4 Africa. She recently graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Economics. Her journey to Narrative 4 was driven by her passion for social change and community development, and the desire to make a meaningful impact. Throughout her academic journey, she explored the intersection of economics and social justice, understanding how economic policies shape communities and foster equitable development. Beyond her academic pursuits, she finds solace in reading and enjoy escaping into the pages of a good book. She also love organizing and participating in fundraising events to promote literacy and support education. These experiences have fueled her passion for social change and strengthened her commitment to making a positive difference. She is eager to contribute to N4’s mission of creating positive change around the world!

Zukiswa Allah is a daughter, mother, humanitarian, and part of the N4 Africa Team. She started her journey at Artworks for Youth as a mentor and a teacher, assisting in the community. During her time there, the Sister’s Keeper was founded. Zuki’s time there involved empowering and guiding young women in the fight against Gender Based Violence through different campaigns. Meanwhile, she is also a founder and principal at Royal Offerings, a daycare center in South Africa. Zuki has been involved with Narrative 4 for many years, and in 2020, she founded and now manages the organization’s first official Empathy-into-Action project, Trash to Treasure, based on an exchange of trash for groceries.

Bruno has been an associate at Narrative 4 in Rwanda since its inception in the country of Thousand Hills in 2022. Alongside his work with Narrative 4, he is involved with a social enterprise dedicated to protecting the future by conserving forests. His main role is advising the senior management on strategy, communication, and partnerships. Bruno has extensive experience in strategy and communication and has worked in various sectors, focusing on socially impactful and sustainable projects. He enjoys traveling, hanging out with friends, and engaging in open conversations.

As an Operations Manager at Kgololo Academy South Africa, Pamela has experience in organizational efficiency and team leadership. With a background in educational administration and a keen eye for detail, Pamela has successfully managed various aspects of school operations, from logistics and facilities management to budgeting and compliance. This role has honed Pamela’s skills in problem-solving and strategic planning, ensuring that the school environment is conducive to learning and growth. Driven by a passion for education and community building, Pamela was drawn to Narrative 4 by its mission to connect people through storytelling, recognizing it as a powerful tool to bridge gaps and foster understanding. In addition to professional interests, Pamela enjoys cooking and baking, shopping and spending quality time with her 2 boys Unathi and Lwandle.

Maud ia a mother, wife, an artist, an educator, and a mentor. She is a teacher with over 15 years teaching experience in the Zambian education sector, from teaching in the classroom to being part of a pioneering team that created eLearning content in English and translated in local languages in Zambia. She has a passion for volunteer work in education, the arts and girl child empowerment projects. She also works with students with disabilities and OVC’s (orphaned and vulnerable children). After being introduced to N4 by Buchi Onyegbule, Head of Operations in N4 Africa, she said yes and was launched into the world of N4. The Story Exchanges still blow her away because of the connections that develop among participants that come in as strangers and leave as acquaintances or friends. She also enjoys the networks she has gained and new collaborations (like letter exchanges) with other educators around the world.

Meet Herman Mosha – Narrative 4’s Associate in Tanzania. He was introduced to Narrative 4 through his volunteer work with the National Debate Society here in Tanzania. Inspired by Narrative 4’s mission of equipping young people to harness the power of stories to drive change in their communities, he is passionate about community development, youth empowerment, intellectual engagements, and leadership forums. He envisions creating a better world through the platforms that he has and will continue to engage with throughout his life.

Joseph Onokpe is a graduate of the University of Ibadan and is currently studying for his MA in Education Management and Leadership at the Metropolitan School of Business, UK. In 2020, he joined Narrative 4 as a Master Practitioner and now leads our operations and expansion work as Narrative 4 Africa’s Regional Manager in Nigeria.

Prior to joining N4, Joseph worked as a Program Officer for the Ovie Brume Foundation, as well as Director of the Barack Obama American Corner, a library and information resource centre hosted by the Ovie Brume Foundation in partnership with the American Consulate.

Joseph is a community development enthusiast and an advocate for quality, inclusive education. He believes that, while play is the shortest route between children and their creative calling, inclusive early childhood education is the pathway to a better, more progressive society.

Buchi Onyegbule has been the Head of Africa Operations for Narrative 4 since 2020 and lives in Abuja, Nigeria’s Capital City. Buchi is a broadcast journalist, writer and editor. As a student, he studied English and literature at the University of Benin, Benin City. He started his career in sales for Heineken, before switching to the mass media. Buchi was the host of the Morning Mojo on WEFM 106.3, one of Abuja’s Premier talk shows on politics, governance and social/national issues. A founding Director of the Abuja Literary and Arts Festival (ALitFest), he runs Afi, the Spill Sessions, a mini literary festival that examines societal issues via the lenses of literary works. He can usually be found where there is plenty of coffee and craft beer.

Evan Barker is a Southeast Manager of the United States, responsible for TN, KY, WV, VA, NC, and SC. He began his career as an orchestra musician before accidentally becoming a bookseller and then an English teacher, coming to N4 after eight years in the secondary classroom. He believes that language is humanity’s greatest achievement and hopes to spend his whole career propagating the word in the service of understanding and peace. He holds a B.M. in Viola Performance and a B.A. in English from Middle Tennessee State University and a M.A. in Teaching English from the University of Kentucky. He lives in Richmond, Kentucky with his wife and two children.

Felice Belle consumes and creates stories to make sense of the world and her place in it. As a poet and playwright, she has performed at the Apollo Theater, Joe’s Pub at the Public Theater, TEDWomen and TEDCity2.0. Her writing has been published in several journals and anthologies including Oral Tradition, Bum Rush the Page, and UnCommon Bonds: Women Reflect on Race and Friendship. Playwriting credits include Other Women, Game On! and It Is Reasonable to Expect. She is a lecturer in the low-residency MFA program at St. Francis College in Brooklyn, NY and Director of Marketing and Communications for the global nonprofit Narrative 4. Her poetry collection Viscera is forthcoming from Etruscan Press (Spring 2023).

Maru Castañeda was born in Tampico, Tamaulipas, Mexico. She studied Public Relations and holds an M.A. in Science and Multidisciplinary Studies from SUNY Buffalo and an M.A. in Education from la Universidad Autónoma de Tamaulipas. Community service is a crucial part of Maru’s life. For 25 years, she worked as a Spanish teacher. She strives to help and support anyone who believes that a change is possible in our lives. Maru has been part of Narrative 4 since 2015. Three years ago, Maru successfully implemented the Narrative 4 program in grades K-12 at American School of Tampico (ATS) and advised the school’s N4 Student Ambassadors. Maru loves spending time with her children, Luis Andrés and Valeria, and taking walks with her yorkshire, Lola.

Lisa Consiglio is CEO and Co-Founder of Narrative 4, which she launched in 2013 but began envisioning in 2004. For over thirty years, she has dedicated her career to developing powerful organizations that transform the lives of their clients and constituencies. She has applied her leadership skills – in management, fundraising, marketing and business communications – to a wide web of organizations that is connected by a dedication to humanistic ideals. Deeply committed to a belief in the power of stories, her professional experience spans the arts, education, technology, cancer research, public policy and honoring WWII veterans. She has lived in Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Maryland, Georgia, Washington, DC, France, Hong Kong, Australia, Colorado, Illinois, and is now happily ensconced in New York City.

Frankie Cullen graduated Newbury College with a BA in Psychology and spent five years working in education—applying her curiosity for human behavior and love of learning to building impactful relationships with young children. She has a passion for fostering connection and empathy through the arts and can often be found encouraging her students to share their stories through visual, musical, and written expression. 

Laura is a graduate of UCC Cork and an award winning artist. She was selected as the Paul Clancy Songwriter of the Year at 2015’s Irish Youth Music Awards, and as Circuit Festival’s Music Project Awardee and Arts Council Agility Awardee more recently, in 2021. Following her debut EP, “For Your Company”, she released her sophomore EP, “Heavy Summer” in December 2021, another taste of her own brand of charismatic alternative pop.

Rachel Gleeson is N4 Ireland’s Programme Officer and has a keen interest in people in how we interact with each other and how our stories intertwine and have a profound effect on one other. A student of Psychology, she comes from a background of early childhood care and it was in seeing the interactions of these young minds that inspired her to take up her studies in understanding human relationships and behaviours. She believes strongly in the power of human relationships, the power of connection and the sharing of our stories. She has been a member of the N4 Ireland team since 2019. She lives in Limerick, Ireland with her husband and beloved cat Indie.

Lee Keylock was the first official hire by N4’s co-founders in 2014, and is currently the Director of Global Programs and Training. Lee leads the professional development strategy and implementation for N4 Educators globally. Originally from Britain, Lee immigrated to the United States in 1989 and taught English at Newtown High School in Connecticut for thirteen years. He has served as an adjunct professor teaching Creative Writing and Composition at Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven, where he also earned his MFA in Creative Writing.

James Lawlor is a graduate of the Queen’s University Belfast and the University of Limerick. He has edited the poetry anthology I Live in Michael Hartnett (2013). He has worked as a parliamentary assistant in the Department of An Taoiseach (Prime Minister) and is on the organising committee for the poetry, literary and arts festival Éigse Michael Hartnett. James began working with Narrative 4 in 2013. He is a member of the Board of Directors for Limerick City of Culture 2014 and has recently begun a P.h.D scholarship in the School of English, University College Cork.

Taelor Lewis is the Midwest Manager of the United States, responsible for ND, SD, MN, MI, WI, IL, IN, and IA. Taelor was born and raised in the Greater Los Angeles area. She received her BA and MA in Sociology from California State University, Fullerton as well as an LLM in International Human Rights. Taelor has five years of experience as an educator at the K-12 and community college level. For the past year, she has worked as a grassroots organizer working to mobilize communities and support. She has a passion for education, human rights, and social justice advocacy. Taelor currently resides in Chicago, Illinois.

Born and raised in The Bronx, NY, Gus Lopez earned his B.S. in Accounting from Mercy College in NY and has worked in non-profit finance and accounting for over fourteen years. Gus finds non-profit work rewarding because he can see the effects of his efforts reflected in the growth of the communities he serves. Gus has extensive experience working for nonprofits that provide testing and support for HIV/AIDS patients, maternal and child health services, and immigration support. In his free time, Gus enjoys sculpting, sketching, problem solving, and using technology to expand his creativity.

Jahi Mackey is a Southeast Regional Manager for Narrative 4, responsible for TX, LA, MS, AL, GA, and FL. He is a native and resident of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Jahi graduated from the University of New Orleans with a BA in International Studies and from the School of International Training Graduate Institute with a Masters of Arts in Intercultural Service Leadership and Management. Prior to Narrative 4, Jahi worked to promote global citizenship in southeast Louisiana through organizing and non-formal education. Jahi enjoys working to build cultural bridges between and within communities, whether it be through activism, community education, or storytelling.