Buy your

tickets today

StoryFest:
Building Momentum

Thursday, April 2, 2026

5:00 PM, Doors Open
5:30 PM, Program Starts

Purchase your seat for the 2026 event through the Tommy Elliott Fund

Your StoryFest Evening

  • ✽

    Step into a welcoming space at the Muhammad Ali Center where connection, curiosity, and community-rooted leadership shape the tone for the entire evening.

  • ✽

    Enjoy time before the program to mingle, grab refreshments, and engage with other supporters invested in Louisville’s future through nonprofit leadership.

  • ✽

    Experience seven deeply crafted personal narratives that illuminate lived experience, organizational purpose, and the bold visions these leaders carry for our city.

  • ✽

    Experience how months of guided reflection helped these leaders articulate the deeper “why” behind their work and sharpen visions ready to shape Louisville’s future.

  • ✽

    Expect a tightly curated 90-minute program designed to center the storytellers—no panels, no slides, just authentic story, intention, and audience connection.

  • ✽

    Walk away inspired, informed, and grounded in practical ways to uplift these leaders’ missions and amplify Louisville’s essential community infrastructure.

Meet the
2026 Cohort.

Louisville's teacher shortage. Food deserts in the West End. Youth who need healing spaces. Survivors building violence-free lives. Our Latin community navigating fear & uncertainty. Officers and the people they serve. Cancer patients who refuse to face it alone.

Seven leaders who've built something that works. Now learning to tell the story that makes Louisville invest.

  • Executive Director

    "Connect diverse audiences through solidarity"

  • Enhancing Louisville's Latinx community through education, empowerment, advocacy, and wellness for 20+ years.

  • Co-Founder & Executive Director

    "Show why transformation matters for Louisville's youth"

  • Created by a Kentucky Teacher of the Year's classroom, now a therapeutic platform using hip hop for youth healing—growing from grassroots to a movement others want to learn from.

  • Vice President of External Affairs

    "Tell stories that connect, challenge, and heal"

  • The region's largest provider of services for survivors of intimate partner violence and sexual assault. Crisis intervention, shelter, counseling, and advocacy — working to move these issues from the shadows into public conversation and action.

  • President & CEO 

    "Inspire and expand the passion of our staff, clients, and community"

  • Protecting and healing children and families since 1883—through early intervention, parenting support, child abuse prevention and recovery. 5,000 children and families served last year.

  • Executive Director

    "Foster understanding between community and those who serve"

  • Founded after her husband was killed in the line of duty. Now supporting the full ecosystem of Louisville Metro policing through officer training, critical equipment, and family wellness. Building bridges between police and the community they serve.

  • President & CEO

    "Move funders to invest in what it takes to scale impact"

  • Part of the world's largest cancer support network. 3,600+ members. 190+ free programs monthly across four Kentuckiana locations. Patients, survivors, caregivers, families—every stage, no cost.

  • Executive Director & Founder

    "Tell the story of a community imagining self-determination"

  • Disrupting systems that deny Black communities access to food, health, and education. Four distribution sites, 200+ families served weekly, 2M+ pounds of food moved.

 FAQs

  • Doors open at 5:00 PM. We recommend arriving early to enjoy refreshments, connect with others, and find your seat before the 5:30 PM start.

  • No formal dress code. Most guests wear business casual or something they feel comfortable and confident in.

  • For the comfort of our storytellers, recording is not permitted. We invite you to practice deep listening and be fully present.

  • Yes. The Muhammad Ali Center provides accessible seating, elevators, and restrooms. Let us know if you need accommodations.

  • Light refreshments and a cash bar are available beginning at 5:00 PM.

  • The themes shared may include sensitive or emotional experiences. Generally, this event is best suited for adults and mature teens.