Do Tell!

APRIL 17, 2025, 7 PM

Our outstanding speakers will take to the stage to share their stories. Afterward, everyone in the audience is invited to enjoy a dessert reception with the speakers.

Greeley Voices That Inspire

Join us for our annual event celebrating storytelling from friends, neighbors, and community members! These stories are not the work of professional presenters but are based upon the experiences of local “everyday people” who have been selected through an audition process to tell their story. The selected storytellers offer an array of topics with personal and unique experiences that have had an important impact on the storyteller’s life. Some of the stories are funny, others enlightening or inspirational and most are touching.

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Meet The Speakers

Our 5 outstanding speakers, all connected to Greeley, will share stories of embracing their differences, traveling to remote parts of the world, finding their voice, the gift of anger and remembering loved ones.

Megan Martinez

**MY STORY:** I am not a pack rat; I try hard not to let stuff clutter my life. And yet, I keep what I call "relics" to remind me of the people whom I have loved and who have passed on. I want to share the stories of my treasured relics and the dear people attached to them.
**ABOUT ME:** I am a long-time Greeley resident and a 2011 graduate of UNC. I am married to my high school sweetheart, and we have an 8 year old daughter named Margot.
After a decade of teaching high school in District 6, I made a career switch and now work with the Weld Community Foundation.
I love reading (especially comedians' memoirs), hiking, watching sitcoms, running and WeldWerks.

Ila Leavy

**MY STORY:** I took a chance and
applied to be an exchange teacher to
Australia. In 1988, I lived in that
picturesque place.
My story is about how living “Down Under,” turned my teaching life upside down and about how I ultimately landed right side up!
**ABOUT ME:** Born and raised in Michigan, I graduated from Albion College and received my MA in English Language and Literature from the University of Michigan. I taught in Livonia, MI, Aurora, CO and Edina, MN before having two children: a son and a daughter. To keep my credentials up to date, I have taken many classes at UNC. My fulfilling teaching years at Greeley West were from 1976-1990.
I’ve loved hiking, wildflower study, bird watching, poetry plus community and church volunteering. I sang with The Greeley Chorale for 46 years. Beyond Australia I've traveled to the British Isles, China, Italy, Greece, South Africa, South America, the Galapagos, Norway and Croatia.

Odalis Canchola

**MY STORY:** Growing up in a traditional immigrant household made coming to terms with my sexuality truly frightening, but showing up unapologetically queer has taught me so much about community, freedom and self-expression.
**ABOUT ME:** I am a photographer and writer based in Colorado, born in Guanajuato, Mexico. Considering the fears and limitations I felt growing up undocumented, I feel truly lucky and grateful to live a life full of creative expression.
Through my art, I express themes of self-acceptance, sexuality, spirituality, love and shedding shame.
Community is very valuable and special to me, as I myself had to search for a community in which I felt safe. Through my work and journalism I feel greatly connected to creating space for storytelling.

Trey Martin

**MY STORY:** After being bullied, I found my self-esteem with the help of a writing career and an elephant whose trunk was too big.
**ABOUT ME:** Living with autism and multiple learning disabilities, I often felt ostracized in school. However, I discovered writing while completing my senior project at University High School in Greeley. It gave me a voice and a sense of place in the world that I had never experienced before. I discovered a love for the art of written storytelling. Now, I am often awakened from a dream by a current or future character presenting itself for fantasy adventure.
With a team of editors and illustrators, I have published works including *Albert the Elephant, The Dragon Girl, The Color of Strength* and *Tyler McNair and the Ephlon’s Lessons*. My most recent work is the second in the Tyler McNair trilogy: *Tyler McNair and the Ancient Ways*.
My books reflect themes of self-acceptance, tolerance for individual differences, loyalty to family and friends and a message of hope for a loving world perspective. I aspire to have my latest novels made into movies and I write fervently everyday.

Winna MacLaren

**MY STORY:** Anger isn’t something to fear or avoid. It’s a force—one that gave me courage, saved my life and helped me find purpose. Anger is a gift.
**ABOUT ME:** I have more than 15 years of experience in marketing, communications and public relations. Currently as the Director of Communication and Engagement for the City of Greeley, I am passionate about public service and making communities more inclusive places to live and play. I have previously worked in various nonprofit and government entities, including: the City and County of Denver, Denver Regional Council of Governments, Arapahoe County and Denver Public Schools.
I also currently serve as a board member for the Greeley Creative District. I have previously served as Board Secretary for The Alliance Center, as chair of Colorado's PRSA Diversity and Inclusion committee, and as a member of Denver's Sustainability Advisory Council.
I live in Greeley with my three daughters, two cats and ball python. I enjoy exploring Colorado's wild places and reading voraciously.

Do Tell! Speakers Workshop

Are you intrigued or interested in telling your story at this event but don’t know where to start?

To acquaint potential speakers with our program and to explain how to become one of the storytellers, the District is hosted a free workshop (Watch the full recording).

District representatives provided an overview of our DoTell! Storytelling event: how to submit a story to present, the process for selection, the coaching and support provided to help you present your story at the event.

Watch a recording of the 2023 Speakers Workshop to learn more about the makings of a good story, get presentation tips and for a summary of the process we use during the Do Tell! production schedule.