Pronouns: She/Her/Hers

“One of the most rewarding parts of working at TMI Project is seeing what storytellers look like when they step off stage. It often looks like they’re floating out of the theater. They look taller; lighter. It’s as if something has truly been lifted. To be able to witness that over and over fills my spirit. I can’t think of anything else I’d rather do.”

EVA TENUTO is the co-founder and executive director of TMI Project. Since 2010, she has brought TMI Project from her living room to a host of performance spaces, schools, detention centers, mental health facilities and the United Nations. Eva is the editor and director of multiple solo shows, one of which was awarded Best Comedic Script of 2014 in the United Solo Festival. In 2018, her directorial film debut, Vicarious Resilience, a docu short, celebrated its world premiere at The Woodstock Film Festival. Eva’s own true stories have been published on Longreads.com and in numerous anthologies including Drinking Diaries, Goodbye to All That and others. Eva studied acting at American Academy of Dramatic Arts. She received a BA in Fine Art and Women’s Studies and an MA in Elementary Education, both from Hunter College. More at www.evatenuto.com.

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers

“To be a part of helping people release the shame that binds them, to see people transform in the most positive way after sharing their truth is what gives my life meaning. Countless times I have witnessed how the act of being seen and heard can create true connection and lasting change.”

Julie is a multi-talented performer, writer, and musician who enjoys making people laugh, feel loved, and consider their role in making the world a better place. Aside from co-founding TMI Project, Julie is a media producer and facilitator with The Future Perfect Project, a queer-led organization that offers free arts programming to LGBTQIA+ youth across the globe. She has performed all over the United States, including a tour of her one-person show America’s Next Top, which had a successful run in the NYC Fringe Festival. Currently, Julie is the host of No One Like You (broadcast on TMI Project media partner Radio Kingston/WKNY), a weekly program where she interviews everyday heroes who share uplifting stories about turning their kryptonite into their superpower. Learn more: julienovak.com

Pronouns: She/Her

“We immigrants have stories that have been quiet for a long time and now there is finally a safe space where they can be heard. An immigrant has a lot to say about discrimination and culture but also about values, family, learning and justice. Writing your story brings you closer to freedom.”

“Nosotros los inmigrantes tenemos historias que han sido calladas por mucho tiempo y ahora por fin hay un espacio seguro donde pueden ser escuchadas. Un inmigrante tiene mucho que decir sobre discriminación y cultura pero también sobre valor, familia, aprendizaje y justicia. Escribir tu historia te acerca a la libertad.”

Perla was born in Merida Yucatan and moved to the United States in 2010. The experience of living as a Mexican immigrant made her reflect on social issues and question her own ideologies. She turned to art to express her feelings of confusion and anger, so she began to write poems, theater scripts, illustrate and sculpt ceramics – but her favorite artistic medium is dark comedy. She currently resides in Mexico, and spends her days making ceramics, writing comedy for podcasts, and working for the TMI project. She is the mother of two children whom she loves and from whom she learns every day.

Pronouns: He/Him/His

“My vision of finances is very simple: the accounting of dollars should serve people and not the other way around. TMI Project cherishes people and puts their stories first. I feel honored to be playing a small role in this great work.”

David Cagan has worked in administration, operations, and finance for over three decades. In the for-profit sector, David worked his way up through a national eCommerce mail order company, performing every single job, to become its Chief Operating Officer. He then made a career change to the world of nonprofit. He worked as an administrator for the Local Economies Project and the Hudson Valley Farm Hub. He then joined the Hudson Valley Current as the Director of Operations. His current work includes the TMI Project and the Global Center for Social Entrepreneurship Network. He has a B.A. from Cornell University and an M.A. in Education from Pace University. After work, David enjoys practicing Tai Chi and spending time with his two children.

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers

When I first heard the words ‘TMI Project’ I thought, ‘What is that? I want to do that!’ I knew that any group that valued ‘too much information’ enough to make it a ‘project’ of it were people that I had to know.

In addition to leading TMI Project workshops, Hayley is a writer, podcast producer, and documentary filmmaker. She produced, edited, and co-wrote seasons one and two of the TMI Project Podcast. She produced the documentary film, Hidden Battles, which was directed by Victoria Mills, about the psychological effects of killing on soldiers. She also produced and broadcast edited Naturally Obsessed: the Making of a Scientist, a film about laboratory research by Richard and Carole Rifkind. Her angst-filled teen journal was included in Mortified: Real Words, Real People, Real Pathetic, published by Simon Spotlight Entertainment. Naturally Obsessed premiered on WNYC/Thirteen and is distributed by PBS International. Her installations and experimental films: Move, Coleslaw Wrestling and Boar Hog, exploring multi-generational Florida folk culture, have shown at underground film festivals including NY, Chicago and SF, and the Museum of Contemporary Art Miami and Art Basel. She lives in Kingston, New York with her husband and a small brood of furless beasts.

“TMI Project fosters a space where people are given the agency to define their experience in their own terms. The power that this expression holds for the storytellers and for the audiences who listen is creative, dynamic, and profoundly inspiring.”

Riley Gibbons is currently a student at SUNY New Paltz, majoring in Creative Writing with minors in Music and Philosophy. They hope to pursue endeavors which revolve around creativity and change.

Pronouns: He/Him/His

“TMI Project does the exact kind of work that the world needs. From the moment I learned about them I wanted to contribute to the way they spread outstanding courage, community, and kindness. TMI Project makes the world a more honest, open place and I am honored to be given the chance to help foster and facilitate their mission.”

Raine Grayson is a multi-genre writer who specializes in social action theatre and autobiographical nonfiction. His work focuses on exploring and uplifting the LGBTQIA+ community. Alongside his current roles within the company, he’s also worked with The TMI Project in conjunction with the Trevor Project for “Life Lines: Queer Stories Of Survival”.  He’s spoken his suicide survival story on nationally streaming platforms for Trevor Live in support of their suicide prevention chat line. His nonfiction work has been featured by Queeries Blog, Go Magazine, The Paragon Press, Weasel Press, So Say We All’s book “The Whole Alphabet”, Fresh Words Magazine, Literature Today, The AutoEthnographer, the Santa Clara Review, and many more. His playwriting has been featured by The Playwriting Collective, The Tank, NY Madness, KIT Theatre, The Rosendale Theatre, and Virtual Theatre Collaboration. He is a recipient of the SUNY Thayer Fellowship and Patricia Kerr Ross Award for his playwriting, as well as being recognized as a runner-up for the The Playwriting Collective’s Ball Grant. If you’d like to peruse or purchase any of his work, visit rainegrayson.com. Or, if you’d like to queer up your timeline, find him on social media @rainerpism.

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers

“Being understood fulfills us. I’m honored to be part of an organization like TMI Project that gives so many people the encouragement they need to move confidently towards a better future of their own making.”

Vera Gutmann is a nonprofit development strategist with over ten years of professional experience as a writer– and nearly a lifetime of experience in creative writing. She serves on the board of Radio is a Foreign Country, a nonprofit radio platform that exposes listeners to obscure music from around the world in unexpected juxtaposition. Her other volunteer work has centered around improving the lives of extremely vulnerable people and has included teaching English as a Second Language to refugees and raising funds for reentry services for formerly incarcerated youth offenders.

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers

“As I navigate through these difficult times as a queer woman of color in an interracial marriage and a predominantly white workplace, I’ve found that being vulnerable and telling my own “TMI” stories has built deeper empathy and understanding than ever before. For that reason and many more, I’m incredibly honored to be joining a team that empowers people to have crucial conversations about race in their own communities.”

Shantae Howell is a creative marketing professional, with experience in PR, digital media and content development. In her main gig at Vox Media, she leads the ideation and promotional strategy for various entertainment, CPG and cause-marketing campaigns. The fruits of her labor range from branded audio content and short films to editorial sponsorships and snackable influencer videos. Prior to joining Vox Media’s creative team, Shantae was at Facebook supporting small businesses’ on-platform marketing campaigns, and executed consumer brand media strategies at Ketchum.

Pronouns: She/They/He

“Sharing our internal experiences out loud is what makes them real and inside of the workshop space they become malleable. It is there that we can reshape our narrative and begin to define our lives as we see them. I’m excited to work with TMI Project so that I can learn more about the art of storytelling and support the magical act of self-discovery.”

Rae is currently a sophomore at Bard College where they are focusing on a degree in Writing and Theater and Performance. They spent several years working for Footsteps, a non-profit that serves their community of ex-orthodox Jewish folks. In their role as Community Engagement Coordinator, they organized annual weekend-long retreats for 200+ members and were a fierce advocate for marginalized voices. They created recurring workshop programming for the youth in that community as well as LGBTQ+ people. They attended a youth worker retreat led by the collective Rebellious Root and are constantly calling upon the wisdom they gained in that space to inform their facilitation style. Rae will be joining the Brooklyn Community Foundations Youth Advisory Council to help determine how their Invest in Youth grant should be disseminated.

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers

“I jumped at the opportunity to participate as a storyteller in TMI Project’s first workshop and performance of #BlackStoriesMatter in early 2017 and, later that year, as a TMI Project teacher-trainee. I can’t think of more important work than helping people tell their true stories.  If you think it’s simple, you should try it sometime.”

In addition to leading TMI Project workshops, Dara is an author and manuscript coach. She received a B.A. in Film & Theater from Vassar College and M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Hunter College. Dara grew up on the Upper West Side of Manhattan and migrated in the early 1980s to West Berlin, Germany, where she tended bar, wrote and performed in the theater while living in different communities of squatters, Green Party activists, journalists, teachers, and social workers. Her first book, Great Space of Desire; Writing for Personal Evolution, is a memoir and creative guide for writers wishing to tell their own stories.

Pronouns: They/Them

“As a queer non-binary person, being part of a project focusing on the stories of queer folk was a unique opportunity to align my work with my own identity. These stories are both engaging and important to the tapestry of our history as so many of our stories have been silenced or unsung. TMI Project is doing something special, and I’m honoured to be a part of that.”

Stevie Manns is a Scottish audio producer and podcast consultant now living in New York. Stevie is a podcast fan, first and foremost, producing and hosting two of their own podcasts, This Next Song’s About: A Songwriter’s Podcast and Set Phasers: A Highly Illogical Star Trek Podcast. With a background in radio presenting, production, and self-producing music as a songwriter, Stevie made a long-awaited career change from finance in 2021. Stevie also holds a Law degree from Aberdeen University.

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers

“Collaborating with TMI Project allows me to incorporate my viewpoint and humor into serious topics, such as racism, sexism, homophobia, and injustice, and speak out with humor and heart, rather than rage.”

Jessieca McNabb was born in Alabama and raised in Ulster County, NY. A sought-after entertainer, comedian, and emcee, Jessieca got her comedy career started at the Laughing Wolf Comedy Club in New Paltz, NY in the nineties. Other performance credits include Rosendale Theatre, Ole Savannah, The Bearsville Theatre, The Colony, Woodstock Pub, and her monthly gig at The Lodge. Since 2019, Jessieca has served as the emcee for multiple nonprofit organizations and charity events, including Black History Month Kingston, Kingston African American Festival, Harambee, and for TMI Project’s annual Voices in Action Benefit Showcase. Jessieca is an activist for Black Lives Matter and the LGBTQIA+ community and co-hosts popular Radio Kingston shows No One Like You, My Kingston Kids, and Harambee Radio.

Pronouns: He/Him/His

“TMI Project allows an exchange to happen. It feeds a deep need to know our own truth, to connect to something real. This is an ancient practice of sharing our stories and it’s perhaps the most revolutionary tool we have at our disposal.”

In addition to leading TMI Project workshops, Micah serves as the manager at GWI’s (Good Works Institute) Greenhouse Kingston, a yoga teacher at Mudita, and creator of DAY 1 (a New Year’s Day community event). He is on the board of Wild Earth (a non-profit Wilderness School), Radio Kingston, The Center for Creative Education, and O+ (a nonprofit health and wellness festival for artists and creators). He also serves as City of Kingston’s Art Commissioner at the Kingston Farmers Market.

Pronouns: He/Him/His

“It’s humbling to be part of a mission committed to exploring the cultural dynamics of intersectionality. For centuries, the art of true storytelling has allowed for unheard voices to find an audience and untold stories to come to light. In a day and age when truth is constantly under fire, there is hope when all kinds of marginalized voices are able to find platforms like TMI Project to share common ground.”

Blake Pfeil is a multidisciplinary performance artist & writer whose original songwriting and theatrical work has been featured in notable stints at Joe’s Pub, 54 Below, Rockwood Music Hall, the Highline Ballroom, NY Live Arts, Kasteel Well (Well, Netherlands), Icaro Teatro (Queretaro, Mexico), Gyeonggi English Village (Paju, South Korea), Concordia College, Emerson College, Purchase College, the National YoungArts Foundation, Shakespeare Theatre of NJ, Huntington Theatre Company, New Repertory Theatre, BSP Kingston, Denizen Theatre, among others. Blake’s debut album Wallpaper is available anywhere you can stream/buy music online. He is the creator of the Joni Mitchell-inspired theatrical creation THE BBC, 1970 and is currently working on All-American Ruins, a collection of stories based on his experiences exploring abandoned buildings across the United States. Blake is one of the cofounders of NYC-based folk-fusion collective Macabre Americana, hosts “The Pfeil File” on Radio Kingston / WKNY (107.9 FM / 1490 AM in the Hudson Valley), and currently serves as Operations & Programs Manager at TMI Project. BFA, Emerson College; MA, Purchase College.

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers

“The intersecting stories of plants, planets, and people are what guide my work as an herbalist and astrologer. Crafting our own narratives and sharing them with the community makes space for such profound healing, and I am excited to join TMI Project in this important work.”

Laura Marie Ruocco (she/her) is a lifelong weirdo born and raised on occupied Unkechaug land a.k.a Long Island, NY. She currently practices herbal medicine and astrology on the occupied Munsee Lenape lands of Rosendale and Brooklyn, NY. Laura Marie views these healing practices as tools in service of individual and collective liberation, having designed and led many herbal medicine and astrology workshops taught through a radical lens. She has also worked as a volunteer and staff member in the Girls Rock Camp movement, youth counselor for LGBTQIA+ houseless youth, flower farmer, native plant gardener, and feminist sex educator. She is a lover of dogs, books, good food, and the ocean.

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers

“There is nothing more important than living in your truth. Living authentically is something that TMI Project embraces, and it is the reason why I joined the team. Everyone wants to find a community that they feel heard and accepted in and TMI Project is that special place!”

Saniya Stewart is a young creator and college student who is obsessed with all things pertaining to social media, specifically TikTok. She is a huge foodie, and she created a Tiktok account where she shares all her dining experiences. Additionally, Saniya admires advocacy work, and she always finds herself drawn to being a champion for others.