~April Bell

EVER SINCE I CAN REMEMBER, I’ve loved listening to people’s stories. As a child, my mom called me “the visitor,” as I’d run off most days to visit which ever elder-neighbor would have me.

That’s me in the photo.

The homes on the small lane I grew up on in the San Francisco East Bay were occupied mostly by an older generation. I’ve always been interested in people, stories, and creativity.

In the early 1990s, I began my media career in the fast-paced, exciting, and deadline-intense world of major daily newspapering; I also obtained my degree in psychology. My newspaper career spanned thirteen years. I was in leadership, on the production-graphics side; Prepress.

In 2008 I had the opportunity to reinvent my path and stepped into my current passion as a wisdom-keeper. As a young person, I never could have imagined how the foundational skills of my early adulthood would intersect; I now combine my education in psychology, my experience in leadership, and the graphics and technical skills I learned in my early career.

The daughter of an artist and a mobile tech pioneer, I am enlivened by assisting folks in creatively communicating their stories through technology. Since 2008, I’ve been gently guiding people to tap into the essence of who they truly are, artfully capturing that on video.

Over the years, I’ve honed my listening skills, as I am a natural at deeply connecting with others. I help people craft the narratives which matter to them most.

My clients include families, individuals, organizations, and businesses who value the power of story.

What excites me these days is facilitating the transformative gift of personal storytelling through engaging retreats and courses. My focus lends toward spoken word stories, so people daunted by writing love my process.

I am an innovator, recognized by The New York Times, USA TODAY, and WIRED and others, for bringing the Ethical Will and legacy storytelling via an interview-style format to the masses through the co-creation of StoryCatcher for iOS, launched in 2013. For nine years and running our app has helped thousands capture and share their most cherished stories on video.

For fun I enjoy riding my mountain bike, sailing on the San Francisco Bay, trekking in the High Sierra, and exploring the mysteries of the human spirit and condition.

Ultimately, it is our stories that connect and bind us, today and into the future.

What’s your story?