Midstory’s 2020 annual report takes on a digital platform befitting of the year of social distancing and its unprecedented shift into the virtual. The world, the Midwest, and our own city of Toledo, Ohio seem to have shrunk geographically and temporally.
What was once far away, distant and exotic is instantaneously here, present and intimate in our everyday. Through this last year, we have learned and are learning to embrace and respond to a world that seems at once smaller and bigger than ever, and a humanity that is forever changed.
Since 2018, when we journeyed back to our home in the Midwest, we sought to tell a poignant, inspiring and, at times contradictory, story. And that story continues to change. We find the narrative we are living out is actually propelling all of us into a bigger scope than we had imagined—a scale that encompasses more than just a city, but also the region, and, now most definitely, the world.
We thank you for your continued interest, support and encouragement, and ask you to experience our 2020 with us, recalling the journey of how we interfaced with challenge and crisis and dared to take on a renewed mission with renewed vigor for storytelling, cultural uplift and solutions-oriented research in a city—nay, a world—that is very much in transit.
Midstory’s 2020 started with a bang: we welcomed over 100 attendees to our end-of-year celebration on Jan. 30 and unveiled our vision for 2020, including new research projects, increased & improved programs and innovative media & partnerships.
Since 2018, when we journeyed back to our home in the Midwest, we sought to tell a poignant, inspiring and, at times contradictory, story. And that story continues to change. We find the narrative we are living out is actually propelling all of us into a bigger scope than we had imagined—a scale that encompasses more than just a city, but also the region, and, now most definitely, the world.
We thank you for your continued interest, support and encouragement, and ask you to experience our 2020 with us, recalling the journey of how we interfaced with challenge and crisis and dared to take on a renewed mission with renewed vigor for storytelling, cultural uplift and solutions-oriented research in a city—nay, a world—that is very much in transit.
Midstory’s 2020 started with a bang: we welcomed over 100 attendees to our End-of-year celebration on Jan. 30 and unveiled our vision for 2020, including new research projects, increased and improved programs, and innovative media & partnerships.
We also enjoyed a semester with a spring intern from Owens Community College and welcomed three young travelers from Princeton to Toledo to discover our city. They said…
We also enjoyed a semester with a spring intern from Owens Community College and welcomed three young travelers from Princeton to Toledo to discover our city. They said…
Midstory’s 2020 started with a bang: we welcomed over 100 attendees to our end-of-year celebration on Jan. 30 and unveiled our vision for 2020, including new research projects, increased & improved programs and innovative media & partnerships.
We also enjoyed a semester with a spring intern from Owens Community College and welcomed three young travelers from Princeton to Toledo to discover our city. They said…
Meanwhile, the first case of COVID-19 in the U.S. appeared in Washington on Jan. 6. Little did we know how much that would change the year to come…
Midstory’s 2020 started with a bang: we welcomed over 100 attendees to our End-of-year celebration on Jan. 30 and unveiled our vision for 2020, including new research projects, increased and improved programs, and innovative media & partnerships.
We also enjoyed a semester with a spring intern from Owens Community College and welcomed three young travelers from Princeton to Toledo to discover our city. They said…
Meanwhile, the first case of COVID-19 in the U.S. appeared in Washington on Jan. 6. Little did we know how much that would change the year to come…
Meanwhile, the first case of COVID-19 in the U.S. appeared in Washington on Jan. 6. Little did we know how much that would change the year to come…
Unsettled, we moved forward cautiously with speaking engagements, partnerships, and interviews for our summer cohort of students to come to Toledo from all across the world…
While what was already a pandemic spread across the globe—and the U.S. remained somewhat in denial—we began new office protocol that included regular cleaning, mask-wearing and more. The U.S. had its first COVID-19 death in California on Feb. 6.
We knew it was time to act. The start to a swift and sweeping overhaul of operations to address the crisis, we released “Issue COVID-19: Battling the Infodemic,” an interview with a health expert to debunk myths at a time when most Americans were not taking the virus seriously.
Unsettled, we moved forward cautiously with speaking engagements, partnerships, and interviews for our summer cohort of students to come to Toledo from all across the world…
While what was already a pandemic spread across the globe—and the U.S. remained somewhat in denial—we began new office protocol that included regular cleaning, mask-wearing and more. The U.S. had its first COVID-19 death in California on Feb. 6.
We knew it was time to act. The start to a swift and sweeping overhaul of operations to address the crisis, we released “Issue COVID-19: Battling the Infodemic,” an interview with a health expert to debunk myths at a time when most Americans were not taking the virus seriously.
On Feb. 13, our team grew as we welcomed new Infrastructure & Transit fellow Stefan, who goes archive diving and codes incredible, historical (educational) games to play in quarantine. He also takes lead on the City Infrastructure Project.
Reality hit that COVID-19 would not be short-lived, and long before Ohio’s stay-at-home order, Midstory’s operations went completely remote as early as March 9. While not without difficulty, the digital shift was relatively easy for us, as our work is primarily online and our team, young both physically and in spirit, found fun and interactive ways to work online (Google Meet, Slack…).
COVID-19 hit the U.S. in full swing, and with schools and businesses closing, travel bans enacted (3/13) and eventually full-on stay-at-home orders (03/20), we restructured our content and research to address the urgent public health crisis.
Reality hit that COVID-19 would not be short-lived, and long before Ohio’s stay-at-home order, Midstory’s operations went completely remote as early as March 9. While not without difficulty, the digital shift was relatively easy for us, as our work is primarily online and our team, young both physically and in spirit, found fun and interactive ways to work online (Google Meet, Slack…).
COVID-19 hit the U.S. in full swing, and with schools and businesses closing, travel bans enacted (3/13) and eventually full-on stay-at-home orders (03/20), we restructured our content and research to address the urgent public health crisis.
Finding creative ways to produce timely media, we started the Midpoint, a video podcast produced entirely remotely to address the impact of COVID-19 on various sectors, as well as quarantine-based series like Hungry Still, a food-ASMR-memory video series. During the height of the COVID-19 crisis in 2020, we reached an average of over 44,200 people on Facebook alone every 28 days, increased our total following by over 800 people, increased our impressions by 66%, and increased our engagement by 23%.
Finding creative ways to produce timely media, we started the Midpoint, a video podcast produced entirely remotely to address the impact of COVID-19 on various sectors, as well as quarantine-based series like Hungry Still, a food-ASMR-memory video series. During the height of the COVID-19 crisis in 2020, we reached an average of over 44,200 people on Facebook alone every 28 days, increased our total following by over 800 people, increased our impressions by 66%, and increased our engagement by 23%.
Perhaps most importantly, our Demography team paused all background research to focus solely on COVID-19 data collection and research for the state of Ohio, which we began releasing weekly on April 8 with the goal to reach as many people as possible with crucial public health information during crisis, as well as to look at many facets of the impact of COVID-19, such as the outsized effect on minority populations and the economy.
During the height of the COVID-19 crisis in 2020, we reached an average of over 44,200 people on Facebook alone every 28 days…
Finally, we started our email newsletter, the mid-weekly, to reach broader audiences that may need easier access to information and inspiration during this crisis. We now serve over 1,000 subscribers.
As students across the country lost summer opportunities because of the pandemic, we made a decisive and rapid shift to never-before-done virtual internship programs. We extended our application period until May, tripled our applicant pool and doubled our cohort to provide opportunities to college and high school students alike.
Perhaps most importantly, our Demography team paused all background research to focus solely on COVID-19 data collection and research for the state of Ohio, which we began releasing weekly on April 8 with the goal to reach as many people as possible with crucial public health information during crisis, as well as to look at many facets of the impact of COVID-19, such as the outsized effect on minority populations and the economy.
During the height of the COVID-19 crisis in 2020, we reached an average of over 44,200 people on Facebook alone every 28 days…
As students across the country lost summer opportunities because of the pandemic, we made a decisive and rapid shift to never-before-done virtual internship programs. We extended our application period until May, tripled our applicant pool and doubled our cohort to provide opportunities to college and high school students alike.
Finally, we started our email newsletter, the mid-weekly, to reach broader audiences that may need easier access to information and inspiration during this crisis. We now serve over 1,000 subscribers.
As COVID-19 cases continued to soar, Midstory was busy preparing infrastructure to give our students the most meaningful experience possible, even in a remote setting, through virtual office platforms, robust digital infrastructure, “social hours” and guest speakers (including a Hollywood filmmaker, start-up CEOs and Toledo’s mayor).
Midstory received exciting news that the First Solar Corporate Charitable Fund of the Great Toledo Community Foundation will fund $10,000 in our general operations and educational media campaigns, welcomed encouragement to push forward in the midst of uncertainty.
Midstory also released a mini-documentary on the environmental history & progress of the water crisis in Northwest Ohio, the product of a year-long collaboration with WGTE, the local NPR affiliate.
As COVID-19 cases continued to soar, Midstory was busy preparing infrastructure to give our students the most meaningful experience possible, even in a remote setting, through virtual office platforms, robust digital infrastructure, “social hours” and guest speakers (including a Hollywood filmmaker, start-up CEOs and Toledo’s mayor).
Before the internship, 76.6% of the interns had a relatively negative outlook towards having a virtual experience, but after the internship, 64.7% said the remote experience was the same or even better than an in-person internship.
Midstory also released a mini-documentary on the environmental history & progress of the water crisis in Northwest Ohio, the product of a year-long collaboration with WGTE, the local NPR affiliate.
As students across the country lost summer opportunities because of the pandemic, we made a decisive and rapid shift to never-before-done virtual internship programs. We extended our application period until May, tripled our applicant pool and doubled our cohort to provide opportunities to college and high school students alike.
Meanwhile, various fundraising efforts to mend reduced community and corporate support due to COVID-19 gave us little moments of encouragement, such as when co-founder Sam Chang’s friends outdid themselves during his Facebook birthday fundraiser, or when local company Jupmode sold custom T-shirts with Midstory.
As COVID-19 cases continued to soar, Midstory was busy preparing infrastructure to give our students the most meaningful experience possible, even in a remote setting, through virtual office platforms, robust digital infrastructure, “social hours” and guest speakers (including a Hollywood filmmaker, start-up CEOs and Toledo’s mayor).
Midstory received exciting news that the First Solar Corporate Charitable Fund of the Great Toledo Community Foundation will fund $10,000 in our general operations and educational media campaigns, welcomed encouragement to push forward in the midst of uncertainty.
Midstory also released a mini-documentary on the environmental history & progress of the water crisis in Northwest Ohio, the product of a year-long collaboration with WGTE, the local NPR affiliate.
Meanwhile, various fundraising efforts to mend reduced community and corporate support due to COVID-19 gave us little moments of encouragement, such as when co-founder Sam Chang’s friends outdid themselves during his Facebook birthday fundraiser, or when local company Jupmode sold custom T-shirts with Midstory.
As social justice protests ramped up across the nation, Midstory delved into the Midwest’s long and complicated role in the history of both the progress and the setbacks of racial civil rights movements past and present.
Our long-awaited summer programs began on June 17, with our largest and most diverse cohort yet of 18 college students and 7 high school students taking a virtual “tour” of Toledo through Google Maps, going through workshops and seminars with the Midstory Team and external experts and advisors and brainstorming for the Toledo region and the Midwest at large. They ultimately produced over 80 individual multimedia pieces and contributed to four long-term solutions-oriented research briefs & series.
Highlights of their work include a student’s interview with her grandfather about the Civil Rights Movement and the Great Migration, a in-depth look at local prison conditions amidst the pandemic, a history of Ohio’s indigenous peoples and a new book review series
Our long-awaited summer programs began on June 17, with our largest and most diverse cohort yet of 18 college students and 7 high school students taking a virtual “tour” of Toledo through Google Maps, going through workshops and seminars with the Midstory Team and external experts and advisors and brainstorming for the Toledo region and the Midwest at large. They ultimately produced over 80 individual multimedia pieces and contributed to four long-term solutions-oriented research briefs & series.
Highlights of their work include a student’s with her grandfather about the Civil Rights Movement and the Great Migration, a in-depth look at local prison conditions amidst the pandemic, a history of Ohio’s indigenous peoples and a new book review series.
Our long-awaited summer programs began on June 17, with our largest and most diverse cohort yet of 18 college students and 7 high school students taking a virtual “tour” of Toledo through Google Maps, going through workshops and seminars with the Midstory Team and external experts and advisors and brainstorming for the Toledo region and the Midwest at large. They ultimately produced over 80 individual multimedia pieces and contributed to four long-term solutions-oriented research briefs & series.
Highlights of their work include a student’s interview with her grandfather about the Civil Rights Movement and the Great Migration, a in-depth look at local prison conditions amidst the pandemic, a history of Ohio’s indigenous peoples and a new book review series
As social justice protests ramped up across the nation, Midstory delved into the Midwest’s long and complicated role in the history of both the progress and the setbacks of racial civil rights movements past and present.
“Midstory is an incredible place to work, learn, grow, and create something truly unique. The environment is unlike any other, but so is the work being created there. Midstory truly contributes something entirely unique to the current news, information, and research landscape, and has incredible potential to keep changing the way we see the media, the Midwest, and ourselves.”
“Midstory’s mission came through in every team meeting, every editing session, and every social event the team put on. I really felt the weight of every word I wrote, because I knew it was all part of something bigger. I’ve still never had the chance to explore the Midwest—but after spending a summer forging meaningful (digital) connections in Toledo, I am committed to diving deeper and helping to tell a more holistic story about a place that so often gets overlooked.”
“In the future, I plan to keep Midstory’s ideals in mind as I embark on my future endeavors.”
“Midstory is a sort of light in the darkness for Toledo in all honesty. I think—not to get too sentimental with it—other organizations maybe could have done this, but Midstory did this. They came back from the coasts and gave a voice to a place that really did not have a voice. I see this being something big in the future. I think there’s a want and a need, and this had to happen. Midstory had to happen, I believe, in order for the Midwest to progress and to move on and become known to others.”
“I don’t want to be too cheesy, but [my favorite part] was definitely the people—building friendships—and the community. […] I can’t imagine going through the internship without all the awesome interns and people at Midstory.”
“Midstory is an incredible place to work, learn, grow, and create something truly unique. The environment is unlike any other, but so is the work being created there. Midstory truly contributes something entirely unique to the current news, information, and research landscape, and has incredible potential to keep changing the way we see the media, the Midwest, and ourselves.”
“Midstory’s mission came through in every team meeting, every editing session, and every social event the team put on. I really felt the weight of every word I wrote, because I knew it was all part of something bigger. I’ve still never had the chance to explore the Midwest—but after spending a summer forging meaningful (digital) connections in Toledo, I am committed to diving deeper and helping to tell a more holistic story about a place that so often gets overlooked.”
“In the future, I plan to keep Midstory’s ideals in mind as I embark on my future endeavors.”
“Midstory is a sort of light in the darkness for Toledo in all honesty. I think—not to get too sentimental with it—other organizations maybe could have done this, but Midstory did this. They came back from the coasts and gave a voice to a place that really did not have a voice. I see this being something big in the future. I think there’s a want and a need, and this had to happen. Midstory had to happen, I believe, in order for the Midwest to progress and to move on and become known to others.”
“I don’t want to be too cheesy, but [my favorite part] was definitely the people—building friendships—and the community. […] I can’t imagine going through the internship without all the awesome interns and people at Midstory.”
“Midstory is an incredible place to work, learn, grow, and create something truly unique. The environment is unlike any other, but so is the work being created there. Midstory truly contributes something entirely unique to the current news, information, and research landscape, and has incredible potential to keep changing the way we see the media, the Midwest, and ourselves.”
“Midstory’s mission came through in every team meeting, every editing session, and every social event the team put on. I really felt the weight of every word I wrote, because I knew it was all part of something bigger. I’ve still never had the chance to explore the Midwest—but after spending a summer forging meaningful (digital) connections in Toledo, I am committed to diving deeper and helping to tell a more holistic story about a place that so often gets overlooked.”
“In the future, I plan to keep Midstory’s ideals in mind as I embark on my future endeavors.”
“Midstory is a sort of light in the darkness for Toledo in all honesty. I think—not to get too sentimental with it—other organizations maybe could have done this, but Midstory did this. They came back from the coasts and gave a voice to a place that really did not have a voice. I see this being something big in the future. I think there’s a want and a need, and this had to happen. Midstory had to happen, I believe, in order for the Midwest to progress and to move on and become known to others.”
“I don’t want to be too cheesy, but [my favorite part] was definitely the people—building friendships—and the community. […] I can’t imagine going through the internship without all the awesome interns and people at Midstory.”
In a simultaneously heartwarming and heartbreaking finale, our interns organized a “talent show,” and the Midstory team gave personalized good-bye speeches for each intern who had become part of the Midstory family.
Midstory also received a grant from the Dailey Foundation to pursue a multimedia series on inter-urban rail in Ohio, and co-founder Logan joined a panel on innovation in Toledo for OhioX.
In a simultaneously heartwarming and heartbreaking finale, our interns organized a “talent show,” and the Midstory team gave personalized good-bye speeches for each intern who had become part of the Midstory family.
After a team of over 30 staff, interns, researchers and community collaborators spent the summer doing quantitative and qualitative research for our solutions-oriented projects, we began releasing updates and media in anticipation of the full research briefs. Some of the updates came just in time, as Lake Erie’s algal bloom was as present as ever, yet was much eclipsed by the global pandemic and social unrest of the summer months.
Midstory continued work with community partners, including the Toledo Design Collective, on the Garfield Community Plan, an effort to revitalize and renew a vibrant, oft-forgotten underserved neighborhood on the eastside of Toledo.
In a great year of growth for our team of fellows (graduate or post-graduate team members), Yinuo joins the Midstory family as an economics fellow after meeting us at a virtual Princeton career fair.
We also welcomed two new fall interns, Madeleine from Princeton University and Jordan from the University of Cincinnati, and welcomed back a lovely summer intern, Alicia, to stay on board for another semester.
In a great year of growth for our team of fellows (graduate or post-graduate team members), Yinuo joins the Midstory family as an economics fellow after meeting us at a virtual Princeton career fair.
We also welcomed two new fall interns, Madeleine from Princeton University and Jordan from the University of Cincinnati, and welcomed back a lovely summer intern, Alicia, to stay on board for another semester.
Finishing the year strong, Midstory received public support through Giving Tuesday and other fundraising campaigns. We also accepted four “winterns” from Princeton and BGSU for a short, four-week experience.
Meanwhile, the statewide curfew was extended and citizens got antsy during the holidays, creating worry about uncontrolled spread. We remained fully remote and forewent normal gathering, knowing that vigilance would need to continue into the next year. Our 2021 would remain remote but our vision is as bright as ever…
Diamond 10k+
First Solar Corporate Charitable Fund
Ohio Humanities Council
Platinum 5k+
Greater Toledo Community Foundation
Gold 2k+
Toledo Design Collective
Silver 1k+
The Andersons, Inc.
Tom E. Dailey Foundation, Inc.
Additional support
Focus CFO
Kroger
Amazon Smile
Finishing the year strong, Midstory received public support through Giving Tuesday and other fundraising campaigns. We also accepted four “winterns” from Princeton and BGSU for a short, four-week experience.
Meanwhile, the statewide curfew is extended and citizens get antsy during the holidays, creating worry about uncontrolled spread. We remain fully remote and forego normal gathering, knowing that vigilance will need to continue into 2021 even as hopes arise for a better year.
Donors
Alana Jaskir
Alfred Dannhauser**
Alicia Ding
Andrew Sankowski
Anna DiAsio
Anna Shields
Anna Windemuth
Armond Vance
Ashley Teow
Becky Abde
Beth Sander-Thompson
Brittani Furlong
Caton Yang
Charlie Murphy
Cheryl Mecchi
Colleen Slattery
Demi Fang
Douglas Logston
Elizabeth Bingle
Elizabeth Engoren**
Elizabeth Mohler-Loomus
Emily Miller
Evan Chow
Frances Renzi
Gleeanna Roebke
Heather Gallant
Hunter Baehren
Ignazio Messina
Jacob Beakas
Jason Gonring
Jason Mecchi
Jordan Tsai
Jordan Valdiviez
JT Wu
Judi Uhrman
Justin Ziegler
Katrina Moses**
Kevin Cheng
Kevin McCluney
Lawrence Liu
Louis Chen
Marc Folk
Marilyn DuFour
Michael Murray
Mike Wang
Mina Chiang**
Ming Wilson
Nathan Mattimoe
Nicci Czerniawski
Patricia Corrigan
Rhonda Sewell
Saumitra Thakur
Smriti Gupta
Steve Douglas
Stu Nicholson
Terri Morgan
Tom Brady
Yinuo Zhang
Yuriko Inaba
Zoey Dubuisson
**Notable donor
For 2021, let’s continue to stay connected, informed, inspired—together
Finishing the year strong, Midstory received public support through Giving Tuesday and other fundraising campaigns. We also accepted four “winterns” from Princeton and BGSU for a short, four-week experience.
Meanwhile, the statewide curfew is extended and citizens get antsy during the holidays, creating worry about uncontrolled spread. We remain fully remote and forego normal gathering, knowing that vigilance will need to continue into 2021 even as hopes arise for a better year.
Donors
Alana Jaskir
Alfred Dannhauser**
Alicia Ding
Andrew Sankowski
Anna DiAsio
Anna Shields
Anna Windemuth
Armond Vance
Ashley Teow
Becky Abde
Beth Sander-Thompson
Brittani Furlong
Caton Yang
Charlie Murphy
Cheryl Mecchi
Colleen Slattery
Demi Fang
Douglas Logston
Elizabeth Bingle
Elizabeth Engoren**
Elizabeth Mohler-Loomus
Emily Miller
Evan Chow
Frances Renzi
Gleeanna Roebke
Heather Gallant
Hunter Baehren
Ignazio Messina
Jacob Beakas
Jason Gonring
Jason Mecchi
For 2021, let’s continue to stay connected, informed, inspired—together.
Jordan Tsai
Jordan Valdiviez
JT Wu
Judi Uhrman
Justin Ziegler
Katrina Moses**
Kevin Cheng
Kevin McCluney
Lawrence Liu
Louis Chen
Marc Folk
Marilyn DuFour
Michael Murray
Mike Wang
Mina Chiang**
Ming Wilson
Nathan Mattimoe
Nicci Czerniawski
Patricia Corrigan
Rhonda Sewell
Saumitra Thakur
Smriti Gupta
Steve Douglas
Stu Nicholson
Terri Morgan
Tom Brady
Yinuo Zhang
Yuriko Inaba
Zoey Dubuisson
**Notable donor
“Diamond 10k+
First Solar Corporate Charitable Fund
Ohio Humanities Council
Platinum 5k+
Greater Toledo Community Foundation
Gold 2k+
Toledo Design Collective
Silver 1k+
The Andersons, Inc.
Tom E. Dailey Foundation, Inc.
First Solar Corporate Charitable Fund
Ohio Humanities Council
Platinum 5k+
Greater Toledo Community Foundation
Gold 2k+
Toledo Design Collective
Silver 1k+
The Andersons, Inc.
Tom E. Dailey Foundation, Inc.
Additional support
Focus CFO
Kroger
Amazon Smile
Focus CFO
Kroger
Amazon Smile
Donors
Alana Jaskir
Alfred Dannhauser**
Alicia Ding
Andrew Sankowski
Anna DiAsio
Anna Shields
Anna Windemuth
Armond Vance
Ashley Teow
Becky Abde
Beth Sander-Thompson
Brittani Furlong
Caton Yang
Charlie Murphy
Cheryl Mecchi
Colleen Slattery
Demi Fang
Douglas Logston
Elizabeth Bingle
Elizabeth Engoren**
Elizabeth Mohler-Loomus
Emily Miller
Evan Chow
Frances Renzi
Gleeanna Roebke
Heather Gallant
Hunter Baehren
Ignazio Messina
Jacob Beakas
Jason Gonring
Jason Mecchi
Jordan Tsai
Jordan Valdiviez
JT Wu
Judi Uhrman
Justin Ziegler
Katrina Moses**
Kevin Cheng
Kevin McCluney
Lawrence Liu
Louis Chen
Marc Folk
Marilyn DuFour
Michael Murray
Mike Wang
Mina Chiang**
Ming Wilson
Nathan Mattimoe
Nicci Czerniawski
Patricia Corrigan
Rhonda Sewell
Saumitra Thakur
Smriti Gupta
Steve Douglas
Stu Nicholson
Terri Morgan
Tom Brady
Yinuo Zhang
Yuriko Inaba
Zoey Dubuisson
Alana Jaskir
Alfred Dannhauser**
Alicia Ding
Andrew Sankowski
Anna DiAsio
Anna Shields
Anna Windemuth
Armond Vance
Ashley Teow
Becky Abde
Beth Sander-Thompson
Brittani Furlong
Caton Yang
Charlie Murphy
Cheryl Mecchi
Colleen Slattery
Demi Fang
Douglas Logston
Elizabeth Bingle
Elizabeth Engoren**
Elizabeth Mohler-Loomus
Emily Miller
Evan Chow
Frances Renzi
Gleeanna Roebke
Heather Gallant
Hunter Baehren
Ignazio Messina
Jacob Beakas
Jason Gonring
Jason Mecchi
Jordan Tsai
Jordan Valdiviez
JT Wu
Judi Uhrman
Justin Ziegler
Katrina Moses**
Kevin Cheng
Kevin McCluney
Lawrence Liu
Louis Chen
Marc Folk
Marilyn DuFour
Michael Murray
Mike Wang
Mina Chiang**
Ming Wilson
Nathan Mattimoe
Nicci Czerniawski
Patricia Corrigan
Rhonda Sewell
Saumitra Thakur
Smriti Gupta
Steve Douglas
Stu Nicholson
Terri Morgan
Tom Brady
Yinuo Zhang
Yuriko Inaba
Zoey Dubuisson
**Notable donor
For 2021, let’s continue to stay connected, informed, inspired—together.
Midstory is a 501(c)(3) non-profit thinkhub that progresses the narrative of the Midwest by incubating bright, diverse and interdisciplinary thinkers to exchange ideas and envision the future of our region through multimedia storytelling and solutions-oriented research.
As an educational media organization, we inform, interpret and inspire in and for the Midwest and believe that our region’s challenges can be our greatest asset to drive renewed interest and human capital into post-industrial cities.
