Hunger isn’t just about food—it’s about dignity, belonging, and the stories families get to tell.
That truth came alive in a story shared with me by Joanna Wise, Press Relations Manager at Food Bank of the Rockies.
At her first Food Bank event, around Thanksgiving, families were receiving turkeys and boxes of food so they could share a holiday meal. Joanna connected with one woman who expressed gratitude—not only because her family would eat, but because of what it meant for her son. The next day at school, he could join the conversation when classmates shared their Thanksgiving stories.
That moment struck Joanna deeply. Hunger isn’t only about calories. It’s about whether a child feels the same sense of belonging as everyone else. Food Bank of the Rockies didn’t just fill a plate. They gave that family dignity, the pride of a shared story, and a child the chance to feel included.
Stories like Joanna’s reflect the heart of Food Bank of the Rockies. Last year, they distributed enough food to provide 178,000 meals every day. But numbers alone don’t capture the impact—it’s the leaders and team members who plan, coordinate, and show up every day that bring the mission to life.
I am honored to spend time with their leadership team for “The Stories We Tell (And the Connections They Create)”—the storytelling experience designed for leaders, planners, and culture shapers.
Storytelling in leadership isn’t a soft skill. It’s a trust-building superpower. When leaders tell stories with intention, they build affective trust: the kind of trust people feel emotionally before results are ever measured.
During our session, leaders explored how to:
Share stories that enhance team communication
Elevate the impact of events and engagement
Strengthen their authentic leadership voices
And most importantly, they practiced telling stories out loud. Because how a story sounds in your head is never how it lands in the room.
Every time a story like Joanna’s is told, it multiplies the mission:
A donor feels compelled to give.
A volunteer feels inspired to show up.
A family feels seen, included, and celebrated.
That’s the exponential impact of intentional storytelling.
At Articulated Intelligence, we call this helping people live life well spoken. Through our With 1 Word® storytelling methodology leaders leave with a repeatable process to uncover and share the right story for any audience - so their mission doesn’t just reach ears—it reaches hearts.
To Joanna Wise and the entire leadership team at Food Bank of the Rockies: thank you for leaning into this work with courage and heart. Your willingness to tell your stories ensures your mission isn’t just heard, but felt.
Because the stories we tell don’t just shape how others see us—they shape the communities we create.
Thank you Erin Pulling for the opportunity to connect with your leadership team.
#Storytelling #Leadership #FoodBankOfTheRockies #With1Word #LiveLifeWellSpoken
