Our Board of Directors | Connecting Artists

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Board of Directors

President

Sara Armstrong is a lifelong educator. She has been a classroom teacher, principal, and has provided professional development over 48 years of service. She is the current chair of the Storytelling Association of California (SAC). She is interested in making connections and bringing people together through story. She has participated in SAC’s “Stories in Living Color” project, as well as local swap programs such as Orinda’s Talespinners event. Her latest book, "Pathways to Well-Being: Helping Educators (and Others) Find Balance in a Connected World," co-authored with Susan Brooks-Young, offers ideas for well-being through empathy, gratitude, being positive, getting focused, kindness, and movement.

Donna Washington

Co-Founder & Member At Large

Donna Washington has been a touring itinerate performer for 33 years. She is an internationally known storyteller, author, and award-winning spoken word recording artist who lives in Durham, NC. For more info, visit dlwstoryteller.com.

Lynn Jaffe

Secretary

Lynn Jaffe, ScD, OTR/L, FAOTA is an occupational therapy Professor Emeritus at Florida Gulf Coast University and Augusta University. She has been a sporadic storyteller for thirty years since the birth of her twins curtailed her community theater work. In Georgia she was a member of Tellers of Two Cities and in Florida the Tamiami Tale Tellers. Lynn is currently a board member and the newsletter editor for the Florida Storytelling Association, as well as a new board member and meeting/production facilitator for Artists Standing Strong Together.

Jim Kissane

Treasurer

Jim has been actively involved in the arts since 1994 when he and his wife relocated to
Tampa Bay. Retired from a fascinating and colorful career as a business operations executive, he caught the “bug” of storytelling thirty-five years ago in Atlanta at the “Wren’s Nest” (the historic home of author and journalist Joel Chandler Harris).
A collector of hundreds of personal stories since his childhood, in 2008 he began
compiling a collection of stories “The Story of Industrial America (1850’s – 1950’s)” which he shares orally and in published form; his way to capture for posterity this fascinating era of American history.
He has served on a number of “for-profit” and “non-profit” boards since 1982 and is a
strong advocate and practitioner of “lifelong learning”. Jim is an accredited Lay Minister,
Spiritual Director and has served as a hospital chaplain. He and his wife of forty years enjoy tropical gardening, gourmet cooking, and participation in historical events.
More about his work is available at JimKissane.com.