Esther Choy founded Leadership Story Lab in 2010 to help others leverage the art of storytelling to create extraordinary opportunities. Through the mastery of simple but potent techniques, clients become more engaging and persuasive. Their messages resonate. Success ensues.
Her own fascination with story began when she served as a designer and teacher of leadership programs and as a business school admissions officer. She came to profoundly appreciate the role story plays in professional achievement. Credentials are not enough to differentiate oneself in a competitive market. What tips the scales is often a compelling narrative that tells the deeper story behind one’s achievements.
Esther completed her Master's degree in Higher Education from Texas A&M University. She served as an admissions officer for Chicago Booth School of Business, and taught leadership to Northwestern University undergraduate students. And she is an alumna of Kellogg School of Management's Full-time MBA program as well as a lecturer in its Executive Education Program.
“You work for a storytelling company?!?!” My friends and family were very surprised to find out about my new role, because we always joked about my horrible storytelling skills. As an engineer, I never received any formal training in business communication, let alone in storytelling. However, during my time at Leadership Story Lab I have learned the tools and frameworks and had ample opportunities to practice the skill. Now, my family and friends are pleasantly surprised when they read my stories. Check out some of my latest blog posts "Cupcakes" and "Binders." Let me know what you think.
At Leadership Story Lab, I am able to help people like me — quantitative and analytical people — tell their stories.
Reena has spent majority of her career growing entrepreneurial ventures. She has been responsible for product strategy and new product launches in a variety of industries, especially on e-commerce platforms. Reena has an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management and a Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Becky Talbot is happiest when writing or helping others hone their writing. She has written for everything from hometown newspapers to pharmaceutical companies to fifth-generation dairy farms. She has taught college-level writing courses, worked in writing centers, and volunteered as a literacy tutor. Her creative nonfiction has appeared in Limestone Journal, Contrary Magazine and After Hours. She has told stories at Do Not Submit and the Thread Reading Series and is currently helping to organize a storytelling and music open mic called Tell It Slant. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Roosevelt University and a BA in Professional Writing from Kutztown University.
Faisal Khan has been helping individuals and organizations market themselves more effectively since 1998. As a management consultant with PricewaterhouseCoopers, Faisal spent seven years helping clients in multiple industries successfully market their services and products. From 2005 to 2007, Faisal served as a graduate assistant in the Chicago Booth MBA admissions office, working to assess and interview candidates for admission. Since then, Faisal has gone on to successfully advise numerous clients seeking to gain admission to the top business schools in the country. Faisal has an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, and a BS in Systems Engineering from the University of Virginia.
Becky Talbot
Content Marketing and Research Manager
Faisal Khan
Story Facilitator
Leadership Story Lab Team
Caitlin Scarano
Editor
Caitlin Scarano is originally from southern Virginia but now lives in Wisconsin. She is a poet in the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee PhD creative writing program and currently teaches undergraduate level courses in composition and creative writing at UWM. She has an MA in College Student Personnel from Bowling Green State University, where she worked in residence life and coordinated service-learning trips with the Arts Village learning community. She holds an MFA in poetry from the University of Alaska Fairbanks. She was the winner of the 2015 Indiana Review Poetry Prize and one of her poems was recently selected for the Best New Poets 2016 anthology. Her creative work can be found in Granta, Crazyhorse, and Ninth Letter. Her debut collection of poems will be released in Fall 2017 by Write Bloody Publishing.
Sara Dennison
Project Manager
Sara Dennison joined the Leadership Story Lab team as Project Manager in May, 2016. She previously worked in the educational technology field doing everything from helping elementary school teachers get their students blogging to editing educational websites. In 2006 Sara spent her first year in Chicago as an AmeriCorps VISTS volunteer at the University of Chicago and has lived in the area ever since. Sara is originally from New Mexico, and holds a B.A. in Earth and Planetary Science from the University of New Mexico.