Home of the Brave: A StoryCorps Collection of American Voices

Dave Isay (I-SAY) is the founder and president of StoryCorps, a New York Times bestselling author, the recipient of numerous Peabody Awards, and a MacArthur “Genius” Fellow. His life’s work taps into the heart and soul of the human experience. In 2003, Dave founded StoryCorps, an independent nonprofit organization based in Brooklyn, New York, that has brought more than 620,000 Americans together—two at a time—to record intimate conversations about their lives, create a human connection, pass wisdom from one generation to the next, and leave a legacy for the future. Each conversation is preserved at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress—the largest single collection of human voices ever gathered. Millions of listeners hear StoryCorps’s weekly broadcasts on NPR’s Morning Edition, and select stories are also shared through StoryCorps’s podcast, animated shorts, digital platforms, and books. In 2015, Dave was recognized with the $1 million TED prize, awarded annually to one exceptional individual with a creative, bold vision to spark global change. Dave is currently leading StoryCorps’s work to help decrease political divisions in the United States through its latest effort, One Small Step, which was featured in a segment on CBS’s 60 Minutes in early 2022. For speaking engagement inquiries, Dave is represented by the Tuesday Agency.

Author Residence: Brooklyn, NY

Sharon De La Cruz is a storyteller, educator, and activist from New York City whose work lies at the intersection of STEM pedagogy, art, and social justice. Her passion for storytelling, particularly through comics, led her to the Tin House Summer Workshop, where she developed her debut graphic memoir, I’m a Wild Seed (Street Noise, April 2021). Praised by Kirkus Reviews as a “potent graphic memoir about the forming of one woman’s queer identity” that captures “both the fears and joys of discovering one’s marginalized identity,” and by Publisher’s Weekly for its “wit and exuberance” as a “limber, playful debut collection,” the book has established her as a compelling new voice in the medium. De La Cruz holds a master’s degree from NYU’s Interactive Telecommunications Program and has been recognized with a Fulbright Fellowship, a Processing Foundation Fellowship, a TED Residency, and a 2021-22 Red Burns Teaching Fellowship at ITP-NYU. She currently serves as an Assistant Arts Professor at ITP-NYU.

Illustrator Residence:New York City

Illustrator Hometown:New York City