The formal bio
Mary Alice Arthur is a Story Activist working with story in service of positive systemic shift and for focusing collective intelligence on critical issues. She guides people to find and activate the story that will take them into a larger and more authentic future. With story as an ally, people become the visionary leaders, changemakers and paradigm shifters they want to be. They know story is our lens on the world and determines our agency. They have the knowledge and tools to change it for the better.
She is an internationally recognised process host, building capacity for people to bring their stories to life, and in practice for more than 30 years. She is inspired to work with large and small systemic stories holding keys for a more generative future. She is a steward of Art of Hosting and the Flow Game, teaches participatory practice around the world, and is co-creator of Collective Story Harvest methodology.
Mary Alice is the author of 365 ALIVE! Find your voice. Claim your story. Live your brilliant life. She works with individuals, communities and organisations around the world.
The full story
I grew up as the oldest daughter of two teachers. I got hooked on stories from the first moment I saw a book. I was the kid who kept reading after lights out and walked to school reading two books at once. During school holidays the family piled into the car and took to the roads, and that gave me an itchy foot. Before long I was 17 and being an exchange student in another country gave me my first taste of the wider world. I had so many questions! The stage was set for a love of wondering coupled with a delight in wandering — the ideal attributes for a Story Activist and a self-professed citizen of the world.
Working with an international student organisation taught me the power of working across diversity. I learned about the compelling nature of purpose, the importance of a spark of vision and the power of cohesive practice. I began to think -- and work -- around the world.
Finding the elements of Story Activism
I caught the story bug in earnest in the early ’90s while living in New Zealand. It happened at an inaugural storytelling festival. That was the moment when I saw the power of storytelling for the first time and I started hanging out in the library gathering as many stories as I could. I performed as as storyteller, but I soon realised I wanted to hear other's voices more than just my own. There seemed to be something important in sharing stories and working with them. That's why I was part of the first gatherings of organisational storytelling practitioners a decade later.
At the same time I was honing my craft as a facilitator, working with everyone from the Treasury and government departments to volunteer organisations. I worked to connect teams, support groups to get strategic, I even facilitated a successful telecomunications merger. In 2007 I found out about the Art of Hosting and fell in love with participatory practice. Then one day I met a futurist at a conference who told me one of the top upcoming trends would be "leader as storyteller" and I began to dream of the day my process work and my love of stories would unite.
And now.?
Now I join StoryWork with a leading edge skill in using participatory practice to help groups become high performing communities, able to step up, co-create a compelling story, and from it, wise sustained action. These days I work around the world on a variety of projects. I value creating spaces that lead to great collaboration, learning, curiosity for emergence. and capacity to stay together in great relationship for long enough to get good work done.
I love working with people and for something that really matters to them. I can be incredibly serious and profoundly light at the same time. If we can laugh together, we can ride the challenges together too. We can stay together during turbulence and end up with great results. Sharing our stories is a good place to start.
