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Map of the United States with locations of The 250 storytellersEach red pin marks a storyteller. The badge on each pin is the number of stories that storyteller has published. Featured storytellers periodically expand to show their avatar and a short phrase. Same-city storytellers fan out in a tight ring; the ring tightens as you zoom in. The list of every storyteller, with name, location, and tags, is rendered as accessible HTML below the map.
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Our communities.
Our stories.
Our America.

Two hundred and fifty Americans — one for every year of the country. Search by name, place, or what they can’t stop talking about.

Jay Jones

Some Americans build the country with their hands. Others build it by shaping the people who come next. Jay Jones of Narragansett, Rhode Island, has spent his life doing the latter.

Chris Janda

The American dream isn't a finish line. It's a torch, passed from one generation to the next. For Chris Janda of Des Moines, that truth is personal.

Cody McCulloch

Cody works for MindDrive, a nonprofit organization set up by the Kelce brothers to work with kids from underserved communities and give them experience building cars so they can later have the skills to be mechanics and engineers. Cody also owns a small family farm that's been…

Rick Gremillion

Rick Gremillion is a Louisiana entrepreneur, husband, father, and grandfather. He grew up learning the value of hard work from his parents. His father continually reinvented himself throughout his career, eventually becoming a small business owner, while his mother dedicated her…

Tara O'Connor LaRose

If there is one word that has defined Tara's life it is hope — hope in her family, hope in her community, and hope in a country she has watched face its darkest moments and come back stronger every time. Tara's parents each emigrated separately from Ireland in the early 1900s.…

Chris Rector

Chris grew up just outside of Boston in the 50s and 60s, coming of age as America confronted Vietnam and civil rights. From the pews of his Episcopal church, he watched his parents stand on the right side of history. They believed, as Americans must, that this country's promise…

Stephanie Weins

Dr. Stephanie Wiens grew up in a small town where playing basketball throughout her childhood taught her dedication, discipline, and hard work. Her coach often said, “practice makes permanent,” a lesson that stayed with Stephanie far beyond the basketball court and continues to…

Drew Kaufman

Drew grew up on a farm in small town Iowa. After high school, he attended Drake University,

Anthony Totaro

Anthony grew up as the grandson of Italian immigrants in The Bronx and Queens. His father and uncle were both veterans, and Anthony knew early on that he wanted to serve his country too. He earned the rank of Eagle Scout at just 13 and went to the University of Notre Dame after…

Katie Ward

Katie was born in Boise, Idaho, but spent some of her childhood in Alabama in the years following the end of segregation. Raised in a deeply conservative household, she developed an independent perspective early in life and learned firsthand how public support systems and…

Jan Booth

Jan was raised by two young parents in Kansas City where her dad, Jack, started a construction business after returning home from fighting in World War II as a pilot in 1944 and 1945.

Kaitlin Carite

Kaitlin was born and raised in Mississippi, where growing up poor and watching her parents’ struggle gave her an early lesson in perseverance, and a perspective she carries with her still. Those experiences shaped her compassion and her drive, eventually leading her to a career…