Talks and Workshops

TALKS 

• Presented the closing plenary for the Main Street America annual conference, Main Street Now, focused on storytelling as a community building and preservation tool; Richmond, VA; 2022 
• Delivered a keynote speech and a one-hour workshop for approximately 600 Rotary leaders including Rotary International President Shekhar Mehta at the Big West Zone Institute; Tucson, AZ: 2021 
• Presented a keynote for World Artists Experience's “Culture Is People: Storytelling into the Future" conference; virtual: 2021 
• “Storytelling: A Radical Gift of Hope/Storytelling: Un regalo radical de esperanza,” a talk for the Bank of the Republic of Columbia’s “Peace Speaks Up” initiative; virtual: 2021
• Presented a closing keynote for the Maker City Summit in partnership with the Office of the Mayor; Knoxville, TN: 2021
• Presented a plenary talk and Q&A for artists with the RiffRaff Arts Collective’s “We Need to Talk!” initiative, funded by an Our Town grant from the National Endowment for the Arts; Princeton, WV: 2021
• “Rethinking the Narrative,” a plenary talk for the League of American Orchestras annual conference; virtual: 2021
• Participated in “How Do We Talk to Each Other? Storytelling for Racial Justice,” a panel discussion for the final Freedom Stories presentation; virtual: 2021
• “The Transformative Power of Storytelling,” an open keynote for the National Museum of African American Music’s Rivers of Rhythm Institute for Social Education conference; Nashville, TN: 2021
• Presented a keynote for the Greely Rotary District Conference; virtual: 2021
• “Your Story, Your Values, Your Impact,” a keynote for the Future Assistant conference held across western Europe; virtual: 2021
• Delivered a plenary talk for the annual Rural Assembly Everywhere conference presented by the Center for Rural Strategies; virtual: 2021
• “The Power of Storytelling,” a keynote for Rotary E-club of World Peace; virtual: 2021
• Opening remarks and welcome for the ISC’s Freedom Stories initiative; virtual: 2020
• “Storytelling and Peace,” +Peace Coalition Launch and United Nation’s International Day of Peace plenary lecture; New York, NY: 2019
• “Home,” Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library Homecomin’ keynote address at the invitation of Dolly Parton; Pigeon Forge, TN: 2019
• Storytelling and peace lecture series for the annual Rotary International Conference and Peace Symposium; Hamburg, Germany: 2019
• Presented at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival 50th Anniversary; Washington DC: 2017
• “Storytelling: The Power of Peace,” US Department of Defense opening keynote and workshop for Collaborative and Adaptive Security Initiative (CASI;) Arlington, VA: 2017
• “Storytelling: A Peaceful Power,” TEDx talk; Nashville, TN: 2016 
• “The Transformative Power of Storytelling: A Social Force for Social Change,” Botkin Lecture Series, 40th Anniversary of the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress; Washington, DC: 2016 
• “Narratives of Hope,” paper at the Society for Anthropology North American conference; Durham, NC: 2013
• “Beyond the Comfort Zone: Challenging Conventional Narratives of Peace,” a speech for the Rotary Spring Conference: 2013
• “Poetry for Social Change,” lecture at the Peace to Peace Conference; Greenwood, SC: 2012
• “Social Justice Folklore,” an address at the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage; Washington DC: 2013
• Keynote address to international delegation at United Nations; New York, NY: 2012
• “Ethnography at Street Level,” paper delivered at the American Folklore Society conference; New Orleans, LA: 2012
• “The Engaged Museum,” speech at UNESCO British Council Managing World Heritage Sites conference; Edinburgh, Scotland: 2008
•  “Challenging Sectarianism,” lecture at the Gallery of Modern Art Lecture Series; Glasgow, Scotland: 2007
• Keynote speaker at Conference on World Religions: 2007
•  “Engaging with Communities and New Arrivals,” keynote at Northern Ireland Museums Conference; Belfast, Northern Ireland: 2005

WORKSHOPS & PRESENTATIONS

• Presented a deep dive storytelling session as part of a special convening hosted by world-class cellist Yo-Yo Ma. Kiran led a thinking exercise and workshop focusing on the interplay between culture and the environment, music and stories, and how they can foster peace and understanding, building out connections between and among one another and the land upon which we live and work. Kiran participated as a thinking partner on behalf of ISC in partnership with The Office performing arts and film, the National Park Service, the Cherokee Museum, Tremont, Black in Appalachia, and other participants. Great Smoky Mountains National Park; 2022 
• Presented a workshop entitled “Strengthening Voices” as a follow-up to the keynote at the Big West Institute; Zoom; 2022 
• Delivered a keynote speech and a one-hour workshop for approximately 600 Rotary leaders including Rotary International President Shekhar Mehta at the Big West Zone Institute; Tucson, AZ: 2021
• Delivered an applied storytelling presentation for the “fine arts and PE” section of Niswonger Regional Learning Day, a professional development summit for regional K-12 teachers across disciplines sponsored by the Niswonger Foundation; Greeneville, TN: 2021 
• “Finding Your Story,” a workshop for young adults presented as part of the Young Appalachian Story Summit; Jonesborough, TN: 2021
• “Weaving Our Stories,” a workshop for public space practitioners based in New Mexico including federal agents with the Bureau of Land Management; virtual: 2021
• “commUNITY,” a community-building talk/workshop joint event presented in partnership with Stuart Rotary of Stuart, Virginia: 2021
• Presentation to the National Council of Tradition Arts on the impact of the Freedom Stories initiative; virtual, 2021
• Presentation to Biden-Harris Arts and Humanities Transition Team on the importance of the arts and humanities in rural regions such as Central Appalachia; virtual: 2020
• “Telling Stories that Matter” workshop; a training for members of the interpretive staff at the Bureau of Land Management, the National Parks Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Forestry Service; virtual: 2020
• Artists at Work advocacy training; a workshop for members of the AAW team, a WPA-inspired pandemic-response project funded by the Andrew Mellon Foundation; virtual: 2020
• “Stories as Medicine” pilots; a series of resiliency-trainings designed for healthcare workers, developed in direct response to the Covid-19 pandemic; Johnson City, TN and Ballarat, Australia: 2020
• Training and consulting for the Uganda Storytelling Initiative; Tororo, Uganda: ongoing
• Story Circle Leader, House Foreign Relations Committee; eventually helping lead to the Elie Wiesel Genocide and Atrocities Prevention Act of 2019; Washington, DC: 2016
•  “Telling Stories that Matter,” a collaborative series of workshops for community building and healing following the shooting at Mother Emanuel AME Church; Charleston, SC: Feb. 2016
• Community Partners Action Summit participant at the invitation of the White House; Washington, DC: 2015
• Participated in various talks and projects across Colombia focused on social responsibilities, human rights education, and peace promotion with Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs); Bogotá, Ibague, and Cartagena, Colombia: 2009
• Human rights-centered program and workshop for World Refugee Day; Glasgow, Scotland: 2008
• Panel speaker on “museums of the future” at the “Moving on Up” development session; UK Museums Association: 2008
• Glasgow representative in sister-city project “Societies in Crisis” sponsored by the European Commission aimed at better structuring and enriching educational approaches to youth initiatives across Europe and the Mediterranean; Marseilles, France: 2007
• “Faith to Faith: F2F,” adult social justice learning program aimed at allowing visitors to discuss and debate issues relating to religion in Scotland and the world; Glasgow, Scotland: 2007
• Invited to chair session at the UK Museums Association conference: 2004
• “Sense over Sectarianism,” a 16 panel exhibition produced by working with two schools and using artworks produced by students; Glasgow, Scotland: 2004