about Front Porch Sessions
“It might not be pretty but it will always be beautiful”
I was having a conversation with friends one evening and the topic kept returning to fear and frustration with the state of the country. It felt like police shootings were on the news every night and people in my local community were feeling more isolated. I decided then and there that I would do something to try and bring people like my friends closer to people they didn’t know but lived in the same community.
I was having a conversation with friends one evening and the topic kept returning to fear and frustration with the state of the country. It felt like police shootings were on the news every night and people in my local community were feeling more isolated. I decided then and there that I would do something to try and bring people like my friends closer to people they didn’t know but lived in the same community.
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I started with what I’m good at, storytelling and I began to craft an event that would both create listening and speaking opportunities. Front Porch Sessions was born in my backyard weeks later. I canvassed my entire social group for referrals of people they found interesting or who were doing thought provoking work in the Portland community. From this pool of community suggestions I was able to recruit three volunteers to tell a personal story to a group of strangers at my house. The thing that separates FPS from other storytelling events is that the audience gets to engage with each other. At the end of each story the storyteller asks the audience a question to inspire conversation. Time is then given for the audience to connect and discuss the question. Front Porch Sessions should be looked at as an opportunity. It’s a chance to rediscover the things that we have in common with each other as human beings and to celebrate what make us unique as individuals. Front Porch Sessions helps create community.
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about Chris Williams
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You will rarely see me wearing a suit. I’ve always been more interested in the who than the what. I believe the quickest way in getting to the who is to listen and that’s how Front Porch Sessions came into existence. The power of story has influenced my life from a very young age and I’ve spent my time incorporating storytelling into the work that I do. I earned a Master’s Degree in Conflict Resolution from Portland State University and have worked in the Equity Department for Portland Public Schools. You can catch me telling my own stories or playing on stage with my Improv Trio Broke Gravy at local theaters. Regardless of where I am or what I am doing I am committed to engagement with the communities around me and living a full life as I do so.
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